Sentenced To Life
by Villana Del Amor
Summary: She was nobody when she met him and became somebody by his side. Bygones became bygones and she was soon a figment of his past, but when his future came crashing into her, she was left with two choices: stay or run. Vince/OFC
1. Present

**Title**: Sentenced To Life

**Summary**: She was nobody when she met him and became somebody by his side. Bygones became bygones and she was soon a figment of his past, but when his future came crashing into her, she was left with two choices- stay or run.

**Rating**: M

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the Fast and the Furious or the characters that appear in the movie. All similarities that this story has to any other story or characters are purely coincidental. Everything in this story –original characters and plot- are the fruits of my criminally insane mind.

**A/N: **This insane plot was created in the middle of a 3 Doors Down playlist- so that should explain everything.

Enjoy!

**Chapter 1: **Present

They say that the past should be buried but who knew that it could be almost impossible to achieve, with a constant reminder running about everyday.

Amira glanced at the little girl that lay in her bed and sighed. She closed the bedroom door softly and walked into the small living room that came with her run down one bedroom apartment. She stripped out of her stained waitress uniform, throwing it on to the couch and making her way into the kitchen.

She grabbed a bowl, a box of cereal, a spoon and the gallon of milk before heading back into the living room. It was a daily ritual. She would put Samantha to bed, down some cereal while watching the news and then catch five hours of sleep before getting up and ready for another day of work. She fell asleep on the couch that night, the news blaring and her bowl of cereal turning soggy on the coffee table.

Amira woke up the next morning, when she heard her phone go off. It was the alarm she set before hand, knowing that she was prone to fall asleep at any moments notice when she got home from work.

She stood up from the couch, stretching her body out. She had thirty minutes to get ready and then go get Samantha ready. She shut the television off and placed the cereal, bowl and milk back into their appropriate positions.

Amira walked into the bathroom, checking herself out in the full length mirror that hung behind the door. She was currently clad in a black bra and panty set, her jet black shoulder length hair straight. She shrugged and jumped into the shower before it got any later.

Forty-five minutes later, she stood in the middle of the living room a comb in hand. Samantha, a beautiful six year old girl, stood in front of her with a scowl on her face. The little girl was a lighter complexion when compared to her mother's caramel color. Samantha had bright blue eyes, while her mother, Amira, held a pair of intense hazel colored eyes. The two looked nothing alike.

"This hair of yours is getting on my last nerve," Amira said, throwing the comb on the couch and reaching for a scrunchie that was on the coffee table. She swiftly pulled the small girl's unruly hair into a ponytail and winked at her. "You can't tell difference, now go and get your bag or we'll be late," she said, ironing her shirt out with her hands.

Fifteen minutes later, Amira shifted into park across the local elementary school. "Mom, why do you look so different then the other moms?" Samantha asked, taking her seatbelt off. Amira looked across the street at the moms that surrounded the school and glanced back at Samantha.

"Because mommy has class and style. Those Barbies over there are stock. I'm customized, baby," she replied, getting out of the car and waiting for Sammy to walk around the car. "Mom, are you talking about cars again?" The little girl asked, giving her mom her hand so she could help her cross the street.

"It means that I'm original and they just copy each other," she replied, crossing the small girl across the street. "Okay. Love you mom. I'll see you later," the girl said, giving her mother a kiss on the cheek and running inside the school.

Amira watched as Sammy ran inside the school and soon found herself being watched by the other mothers. Okay, so Amira didn't fit the requirements for the mother job. She glanced at the other mothers and scowled, before crossing the street.

She climbed inside her car, a blue RX-7 and turned it on. As she strapped herself in, she thought about Samantha's comment. The other moms drove mini-vans, a car she wouldn't be caught dead in. The other moms wore pencil skirts, shoes and jewelry so expensive that they were about the price of the monthly payments on their mortgages and silk button down shirts tucked in.

She glanced down at her outfit and sighed. She currently decked out in a pair of black converses, black low rise jeans, a white wifebeater and a black beanie. Her makeup was simple- mascara and lip gloss. Her jewelry consisted of a silver thumb ring, diamond studs and black leather cuffs. "Fucking barbies," she muttered, before doing a u-turn and heading back home.

--

Amira threw herself on her bed, taking in a deep breath. It was her day off and she soon found herself bored. Her days were usually filled with tight-as-fuck schedules and no time to even breathe, but Mondays and Tuesdays she was usually lost.

She glanced at the laundry in the corner of the room and shook her head softly. "Tomorrow," she whispered, throwing an arm over her face and sighing. Just as she was beginning to fall asleep, her phone started beeping.

She rolled over, grabbing her cell phone off the night stand and flipping it open. It was a text message and when she opened it, it read an address. Her address. She frowned, not understanding the message.

The system was that when there was a race going on, you would text her the address and she would be there in ten minutes, but it was the middle of the day and she lived in a residential neighborhood.

She checked the number that the text came from and called it back, but got the voicemail. Amira thought about the address and thought worse of it. She walked over to her closet and began rummaging through some shoe boxes. She pulled out a black one and walked over to the bed. She pulled the top off, revealing a 9 mm handgun.

She pulled it out, loaded it and cocked it, tucking it in the back of her waistband, not sure of what to do next. For the next fifteen minutes, she sat around the house, moving around every second or so, nervous. Amira didn't know what to expect. She didn't live in the best neighborhood, but those that had her cell number were privileged people that she knew.

She got up and went into the kitchen for a drink of water. When she brought the glass to her lips, she heard a soft knock on the door. She walked over cautiously to it, glancing through the peep hole, but finding no one there. She stepped away from the door and leaned against the wall next to it. A minute later, she heard a knock but only harder this time.

Amira reached into her waistband and pulled out her gun. She turned off the living room light before unlocking the door and opening it slightly. The door opened slowly, a head sticking through.

She pressed her gun slowly into the intruder's temple, taking a step. "Move your right hand slowly and turn the light on," she ordered, her voice cold and even. The intruder did as told and Amira gasped when the lights were turned on. Vince.

She dropped the gun and shook her head softly. "What the fuck are you doing here?" She asked, pulling the intruder into the apartment and shutting the door. "What the fuck are you doing with that gun?" He asked, taking a seat on the couch. "Vince, you taught me how to take care of myself," she replied, placing the gun on the coffee table.

"Yeah, but I didn't tell you to go around and shove it in people's face," he barked, throwing his feet on the coffee table. "Yeah, like you're any different. What the hell do you want?" She said, matching his tone, word for word.

"Can't an old friend come by to visit you?" Vince said. Amira stood in front of him and scowled. "Last time I saw you was over six years ago and you told me that you wish I would die. So cut the bullshit and spill it," she said, slapping his feet off the coffee table.

She sat on the edge of the coffee table and took a good look at him. His arm was in a sling and he looked worn out. Vince searched for words to explain the events of the last 36 hours but decided not to. "I'm in some shit and I need out really quick," he muttered, shaking his head softly.

"Listen Vince, I'm not the same girl as before. I don't just cut loose like you and me used to do back in the day. I have responsibilities and shit," Amira said, shaking her head. Vince sat up rapidly, making her jump. "Shit, I'm sorry Ami. I'm really in some deep shit and there's no one else I can turn to," he whispered.

"Where's the Toretto gang now? And what the hell did you do that's so bad?" She asked, walking into the kitchen. "Where have you been for the last day? Have you not seen the news?" He said, following her into the kitchen. She shook her head and drank down the glass of water that she had served herself earlier.

"Cops are looking for me. I just need a ride past the border and I'll be out of your life forever," he whispered, coming face to face with her. "How bad?" Vince shook his head, clearly frustrated. "Bad. I mean deep, deep shit, Ami. Just drive me past the border. I'll pay you back with interest," he said.

Amira cocked her head to the side and glanced up at Vince. "How much we talking about here?" She asked. "15 thousand if we make it across the border safely, 5 if we don't," he said. She glanced around the broken down apartment and nodded her head. More money meant less shifts at the crappy ass diner and more time with Samantha.

---

Vince sat low in the passenger's seat and glanced at Amira as she brought the car to a stop. "I'll be back, let me go get something," she said, shifting into park and exiting the car. Vince sat up in the seat and stared after her as she ran into a building that looked to be like a school. He shrugged and slumped back into his seat.


	2. Promise

**Chapter 2: **Promise

The little girl froze and watched as her mother walked down the hall. Amira turned around when she noticed that Samantha wasn't following. "You said that we wouldn't have to run any more. That you would stay at the diner," Sammy said, crossing her arms over her chest and scowling.

"I should've never taught you that move. Now get a move on it," Ami replied, pointing towards the end of the hall. Sammy took a couple of steps towards her mother and looked up at her through teary eyes. Ami shook her head softly and crouched down to her daughter's level.

"Samantha Luciano, I promise that we'll be back home by Wednesday the latest. It's just a favor for a friend that I need to do, babygirl," she said, softly. Sammy shook her head and continued on her way towards the school main entrance.

The duo crossed the street and Ami held the door open as Sammy climbed in. The small girl took off her backpack and strapped herself in, ignoring the man in the front seat. Vince turned around in his seat and glanced at the young girl, his heart skipping a beat. "Who's this?" He asked Ami, not taking his eyes off the girl. "Samantha this is Vince, Vince this is Samantha," she said, getting into the driver's seat and turning the car on.

"New boyfriend, mom? Is he stock?" Samantha asked, reaching under the seat in front of her and pulling out an Ipod. "Stock?" Vince asked laughing, putting his seatbelt on. "Shop talk," Ami muttered, pulling the car on to the road. Minutes later, they hit the highway and Sammy turned her Ipod on loudly, a soft rock song blaring through the small headphones.

Vince glanced back at the little girl, who currently had her eyes closed and was bopping her head along with the song. He looked at the road straight ahead and sighed. Amira glanced over at him and found his face full of confusion. "What's on your mind, Vince?" She asked.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He whispered, looking at her in the eyes. "Tell you what?" She replied, switching lanes. "About her," he replied. Amira shook her head softly. "There's nothing to tell, Vince. I have a daughter and that's the end of it," she replied, reaching over and turning the CD player on. When she noticed that V was about to say something else, she turned the music up all the way, the vibrations running through her body.

--

The blue RX-7 pulled into the dingy Mexican motel parking lot and shut off. Amira climbed out of the car and opened the trunk, pulling out two duffel bags. She reached into the car and pulled out a half asleep Samantha, who was rubbing at her eyes.

The trio walked into the motel's lobby and cringed at the inside. "This is a shithole," Samantha mumbled, looking around stunned. "It's only for the night and watch your mouth," Amira said rapidly, walking up to the man behind the counter. "I only have a single with a queen bed and it's $50 a night," he said, slapping a key down on the counter, chewing roughly on the piece of gum in his mouth.

Vince dropped a couple of bills on the counter and snatched the keys up. Samantha and Amira followed him up the stairs and down the hallway towards their room. He opened the door for them and walked in first, expecting the worse.

The room was small but it was cleaner than the rest of the motel. "Sam, take your bag and go take a shower," Amira said, dropping the bags on the floor and walking into the bathroom to check it out. She turned the water on to a decent temperature and closed the door after Samantha entered.

Amira kicked off her shoes and began to walk towards the bed, when Vince grabbed her arm and turned her around. "You should've fucking told me," he muttered, his eyes full of fury. "I thought we already had this conversation," she replied. He stepped closer to her, coming face to face with her.

"For six fucking years," he said. Amira scoffed and pushed his face away from hers. "For six fucking years you've been nothing but a horrible past Vince, so don't try to make yourself part of my future," she said, continuing on her way towards the bed.

Ami picked up a pillow from the bed and threw it on the floor, along with a blanket. "You don't expect me to sleep on the floor?" Vince asked, a crazed look in his eyes. "Well, my daughter isn't sleeping on the floor for an asshole like you and I sure as hell ain't letting a grown ass man sleep with my 6 year old daughter," Amira said, her arms flailing about.

"I'm her father," he whispered. Amira glanced at him, her heart dropping. She stared into his eyes and saw a glimmer of happiness at the sentence he just finished saying. She smiled sadly at him and approached him. She came face to face with him and found a tear in the corner of his eye. Vince looked away and she brought her hand to his face, forcing him to look at her.

Ami ran her long and slender fingers up and down Vince's jaw line, taking in the features that she used to sleep next to for years. "I don't know if she's yours," she whispered, lowering her eyes to the ground. Vince took a step back and took in a deep breath. "Even I'm not that dense to say that girl looks nothing like me. You've seen the attitude she's packing and her looks. She's mine, Amira," he said.

"The deal was I drive you to wherever the hell you have to go and that's it. I didn't ask you to be a father or to be my husband. I drive and that's it," she said, walking back to the bed.

The bathroom door opened up and Samantha stepped out clad in a pair of Cookie Monster pajamas. The young girl had her hair loose and wet and was shivering. She ran over to the bed and got under the covers, sighing loudly.

Vince and Amira stared each other down, while Samantha looked between them. "You done?" Samantha asked, snuggling into the pillow. Amira nodded and grabbed her duffel bag. She went into the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her.

When Amira came out of the bathroom she found Vince sitting on the edge of the bed, running his hands through Samantha's hair. She walked over to him and touched his shoulder softly. She motioned for him to join her in the bathroom.

"Don't do this Vince," she whispered, closing the bathroom door. Vince stood in front of her and sighed softly. "It's a feeling I've never felt before, Ami. The fact that I have a child, that I'm a father," he said, sitting down on the toilet seat cover. Amira shook her head and sat down on the edge of the tub. "I know how you feel, Vince. It's the same feeling I get when I see her, but to her you're not her father."

"I promise I'll do right by her, Ami. I won't be nothing like my father. I'll never lay a hand on her and I'll love her, Amira. I will love her to death," he said, struggling to get out of his tanktop. Amira stood up and helped him pull his arm out of the sling and take his tanktop off.

Vince groaned as he felt the muscles in his arm pull. Amira reached for his arm, but Vince flinched, edging away from her. She placed a hand on his shoulder and looked at him gently. He nodded, moving his arm towards her.

Amira undid the gauze that was on his arm and her stomach churned. She looked away rapidly, her hand flying to her mouth. "It's not as bad as it seems," he said. Ami looked back at him and found his face tear streaked. She walked over to him and pulled his face towards her body.

Vince pressed his face into her stomach and sobbed quietly. Amira held him as he cried out all his fear and pain. She ran her fingers through his hair, knowing from the old times that it relaxed him. Vince pulled away from her and began to wrap his arm up again, the carnage making him sick.

Ami kneeled on the floor in front of the toilet and placed her head in his lap. "What happened, Vince? And don't bullshit me. I want the truth," she said, glancing up at him. Vince took in a deep breath and leaned his head back against the wall.

That night Vince spoke the truth. He told her about the debt Dom had. The races. The bad blood between the Trans and Dom. The heist. Mia. Brian. Race wars. The trucks. Amira knew it all. She was one of the few people that actually knew the truth about everything and everyone.

Amira sat up and looked at the man in front of her. She sighed softly, her mind and heart at war. Her mind screamed to run away from the wanted criminal that he was, while her heart said to stay and help her one time lover and best friend. She shook her head and stood up, everything becoming clear to her.

Vince's near death experience scared the fuck out of him. She understood why he automatically wanted to be attached to Samantha- he was scared he would end up alone. Amira sat down on the edge of the tub and rubbed her face. "For the last 6 years I've watched that girl grow. I have fed, clothed and given her everything and anything she wanted or needed at any cost. And as everyday goes by I see that girl turns more and more into you," she said, laughing softly at the end.

"She asked me once about you. I remember it was her 3rd birthday and we were eating at a local restaurant. She asked who her daddy was and all I could say was that he was my best friend. Ever since then she's never asked again, Vince. And every time I cry over you, I think she knows it's about you, because she'll climb on top of me and place her head in the crook of my neck- like you used to do," she whispered, standing up from the tub and walking over to the door.

Vince walked over to her and stopped her with his good arm. "I'll always be your best friend, Amira, ever since that day in the playground. Always," he whispered, placing a soft kiss on her forehead.


	3. Truth

**Chapter 3: **Truth

When Amira woke up sheturned over in bed, expecting to find Samantha in bed with her. She sat up rapidly, looking around the empty room. "Samantha?" She yelled out, running over to the bathroom and finding it empty also.

She panicked and ran out of the room and down the hall, towards the lobby. Ami ran to where the reception area was. The man from the previous night looked at her from head to toe, eyeing her in her black boy shorts and white sports bra. "Did you see the little girl I was with last night?" She asked.

The man ignored her question and kept running his eyes up and down her toned legs. Amira huffed loudly and reached over the counter, grabbing the man by his collar and slamming his head against the counter top. "Let me repeat myself, did you see the little girl I was with last night?" She yelled into his ear.

The guy nodded and she let go of him. "There's a diner around the block. Her and the guy left like about twenty minutes ago," he muttered, grabbing on to his face. Amira nodded and headed back to her room to change.

Ten minutes later, she left the hotel dressed in a black tank top, jean miniskirt, and black flip flops. She stormed her way towards the diner, giving dirty looks to anyone that approached her. Ami threw the diner door open and stomped inside, giving the place a once over. She spotted Vince and Samantha sitting in a booth all the way in the back of the joint.

Amira flopped into the booth next to Samantha, glaring at Vince. "Pancakes are really good, mom," the girl said through a mouth full of pancakes. Ami nodded and placed her feet on the seat in front of her. "Do you want something to eat?" Vince asked, passing her a menu.

Ami smiled and grabbed the menu from his hands. A couple of seconds later, Vince groaned loudly, dropping his fork on the table. Samantha looked up at him, startled, while Amira just flipped through the menu. "Something the matter, Vincent?" Amira asked, a small smile on her face.

Vince shook his head and smiled. His gaze went from her to the foot that was currently pressing roughly into his lap. "I think I just lost my appetite," he muttered, pushing away his plate. Ami reached over the table and picked the plate up, placing it in front of her. "And I think I just found mine," she said, digging into the plate of waffles that was in front of her.

Ten minutes later, the trio stood up from their seats and exited the diner, heading towards the motel. As Samantha ran ahead, Vince stopped Amira in her tracks. "What the fuck was that all about?" He growled. Amira smiled sweetly and threw an arm around his waist. "Next time you take my daughter anywhere without my permission, I'll kill you," she said, pushing him towards the hotel.

"You're a tad over protective, don't you think?" He said sarcastically, following her into the hotel. She scoffed and let go of him, spotting Samantha down the hall, waiting in front of their room door. She stopped walking and faced Vince, who was a couple of steps behind her.

"When she was three, I started dating a guy and let's just say he got a little out of hand with her. Now he lives permanently in a wheelchair. So if you don't want to be the next guy that I put in a wheelchair, don't fuck with my daughter," she snarled and headed back to her daughter.

Vince frowned and followed her, realizing that he had missed out on a lot in the last six years.

--

Amira shifted the car into park and turned the car off. "That's it over there," Vince said, pointing to a small house across the street. She nodded and looked over at him. "So I guess you can give me my money and go," she said. He looked away, pensively.

"Vince," she said, in a soft voice. He shrugged and glanced over to her. "I sorta don't have the money right now. With everything that's going on, I have to figure out how to get my cut from the heists. That why I need to sit down and talk to Dom," he whispered. Amira took in a deep breath and got out of the car, being careful not to wake the sleeping girl in the backseat. Vince followed suit, standing underneath a shady tree behind the car.

"You lied, Vince, you lied!" She yelled, leaning against the tree. "Just stay for a couple of days and I'll get you your money," he said. Amira scoffed and shook her head. "Stay where Vince? In the Toretto household? So they can mock me while they sip on their Coronas?"

Vince shook his head and came face to face with her. "Don't leave. Stay a couple of days with me. You can stay in my room and I'll take care of everything. Don't pay attention to anything that they'll say," he said, running his hand up and down her arm.

Ami shook it off and pushed him away. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't just leave right now and forget that you ever walked back into my life," she said, walking over to her car and leaning against it. Vince followed her, getting into her face.

"Because of your daughter. Because you want her to have a father. Because you love me and because I still love you," he growled. Amira flipped her head up and stared into his eyes. She blinked rapidly, taking in a deep breath. She shook her head softly and rubbed her eyes. "I'm scared, V. I'm scared that I'll let you back into my life and it will hurt," she whispered.

Vince took her hands off her face and placed them against his chest. "I was young, stupid and angry Amira. I've changed. So yeah I'm still a prick but I sure as hell ain't as self destructive as I was before. I swear on my mother's grave I'll treat her like she should be treated, Ami, whether or not she is my daughter," he whispered, kissing her hands.

She nodded and took in a deep breath. "Get the bags from trunk and move it," she growled, heading into the car for Samantha. Vince smiled after her- it felt like old times. They would bitch around with each other for days before they got bored of it.

Samantha climbed out of the back seat, stretching out her body and yawning. "Are we there yet?" She mumbled, running her hands through her long curly hair. Amira crouched down to her daughter's level and smiled up at her. "Sam, we're going to stay with some good friends of mine and I want you to be on your best behavior. So don't do anything I would do when me and you are by ourselves, okay?"

Samantha frowned and glanced at the house across the street. "Does that mean no SpongeBob?" Ami laughed and rubbed the top of her head. She grabbed her hand and began to cross the street. "No, it means that you can watch the 'toons, but mommy has a rep to protect," she replied.

Vince caught up to them as soon as they hit the last step. He rang the doorbell and nodded to the girls, offering them a soft smile. They heard footsteps approach the door and seconds later it swung open. The trio came face to face with an array of different emotions.


	4. The End

**Chapter 4:** The End

_6 ½ years ago_

_Amira flopped on to the couch, a Corona bottle in her hand. She threw her feet up on the coffee table and threw her head back, closing her eyes. Ten minutes later, the front door flew open and Vince walked through, slamming the door shut behind him. _

_He threw his keys on the couch, barely missing her, and continued into the kitchen. Ami looks into the kitchen and watches as Vince searches through the cabinets, retrieving a bottle of whiskey. He twisted the top off and downed a long swallow, grimacing at the fiery burn traveling down his throat._

_She stood up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. "You wanna share on your whereabouts for the last couple of days?" She asked, snatching the bottle out of his hand and throwing it into the sink, glass shards flying everywhere. Vince leaned against the counter, rubbing his hands over his face._

_"Don't fucking start," he mumbled, his words clearly slurred. Ami shook her head softly. "Don't fucking start what, Vince? Bitching about how for the last week I've only seen you once? How last week you blew your whole entire paycheck on your latest drinking binge? Or maybe it's the fact that we're supposed to get married in three weeks and I'm already plotting against you?" _

_Vince flipped around and faced her, grabbing on to her arms roughly. "Maybe if you kept your legs open more and your mouth shut, I would be able to stand to be near you for more than two minutes at a time," he snarled at her, throwing her into the counter and leaving the room._

_Amira lunged the beer bottle at him, hitting him squarely in the middle of his back. "You want to throw shit you little bitch?" He yelled, turning around and lunging for her. Amira ran into the bedroom, but wasn't quick enough._

_Vince grabbed on to her hair, dragging her to the ground in front of him. "How many times did you fuck him, Amira?" He spat out, ripping her shirt off of her torso. Ami clawed at the floor, trying to get away from him. He jumped on top of her, positioning her between his legs. He was panting heavily and she was crying silently. "How many times?"_

_"How many times did you drink all your pain away and leave me in the dark, Vince? How many times did you hit me and then leave to go fuck her, Vince? We could be here all night," she spat out, clawing away at his torso. He struck her in the face, her bottom lip busting open and pumping out blood. _

_Amira sobbed loudly and Vince stared down at the woman in beneath him. He took a deep breath in before getting off of her and walking into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him. Ami jumped off the bed and picked up a duffel bag that was lying in the corner. She followed him into the bathroom, finding him sitting on the edge of the bed. "Get your shit and go."_

_Vince stared at the floor, a razor blade sitting between his fingers. She threw the bag at his feet and yanked the medicine cabinet door open. She began throwing bottles on the floor, panting heavily. She glanced back at him, surprised that he was quiet and lifted an eyebrow slowly._

_"What the fuck are you doing?" She asked, walking over to him slowly, kneeling in front of him. Vince shook his head softly and sobbed. "It's better this way. That way we don't suffer at all," he whispered. She shook her head and brought her hands to his face, forcing him to look at her._

_"I need you to listen to me, Vince. I need you to forget all the bullshit we've been through and focus on us and our future," she whispered, wiping the tears off his face. Vince nodded and stared intently at her. "When we met we were nobodies, Vince. My father used to rape me as a hobby and your father used to use you as a punching bag. We've been through so much shit together, so don't tell me you're going to give up so easily when we are finally free from our pasts and we are just a step away from being truly happy," she whispered._

_Vince shook his head and placed the razor blade on the sink counter. "I don't understand any of it, Amira. Why are we like this?" He asked. "We're both fucked up inside Vince. You drink and push me away to make yourself feel better and I run around looking for the love that I want from you. It's just a matter of time before we self-destruct."_

_He stood up, startling her and walked to the other side of the room. He picked up the duffel bag and began filling it up with his products. Ami stood up from the floor and glanced at him, a scared look on her face. "What are you doing?" She asked._

_"I'm packing. I think we should be apart from each other for a while. We should figure some things out on our own," he said, walking into the bedroom. "The hell we are," she yelled, following him into the bedroom and yanking him around. "What the fuck? Three minutes ago you were kicking me out," he replied._

_"Yeah but that was me fronting. It always goes like that. I kick you out, two days later I'm ironing your shirts again. That's how it works. You don't actually pack shit and leave," she yelled, snatching the duffel bag out of his hand. "Amira, don't do this," he begged. _

_Amira pushed him and growled. "You are not walking away from this Vincent. This is me, Amira. You're best friend since we were 12. We have been by each other's side for the last 8 years and I don't expect you to walk out on me when were getting married in less than a month," she said, throwing the bag across the room._

_"I'll tell Let and Mia to come get my stuff tomorrow," he said, walking to the dresser and pulling out a shirt. She walked over to him and snatched the shirt out of his hands. "Why the hell are you doing this, Vince?" She asked. "I'm fed up, Amira. When we're not fucking, we're trying to kill each other. And one day we'll succeed and by then it'll be too late," he said, snatching the shirt from her hand and sliding into it._

_Amira shook her head and tugged softly on her hair. "So what am I supposed to do? You're all I've known my whole entire life, Vince. How am I supposed to go on?" She pleaded, tears running down her face. "Don't make this any harder than what it is already. I'll send you money. You can keep the apartment and the car and the rest of the crap we own," he said._

_"Like I fucking care about that stupid ass car of yours and this shitty ass apartment. I care about you, you fucking raving lunatic," she yelled, walking into the living room. Vince followed suit, grabbing her and forcing her to face him. He kissed her passionately, his lips smashed into hers. His tongue searching for hers and his teeth clashing with hers._

_They broke apart, panting heavily. Vince threw his arms around her waist and pulled her towards him, his face resting in her hair. "I love you Amira, always and forever," he said, his hand roaming up her spine, resting in the middle of it- where a tattoo rested. V._

_---_

_Vince left the house that day and never looked back. A week later, Letty and Mia showed up for Vince's belongings and found the apartment empty. Five boxes lay in the middle of the room along with an envelope and a pair of keys. _

_The girls set the envelope and the keys apart and opened the boxes up. Three boxes contained Vince's clothing and belongings, while the other two contained Amira's wedding dress and other wedding preparations like invitations._

_Mia and Letty looked at each other and shook their heads softly. They packed the boxes into their car and drove off towards the house. Vince glared at the envelope and the keys as Letty passed them to him and threw them on his bed, willing the world to swallow him up whole. _

_Later on that night, Vince sat in his new room, a small bedroom that Dom had given him in the basement and glanced at the envelope. He opened it up and found Amira's engagement ring, their airplane tickets for their honeymoon in Italy and $20,000 in cash- Vince's share of the money they had saved for their wedding. He sighed softly and a tear slid down his face._

_To him, this was the beginning of the end. _


	5. Welcome Home

**Chapter 5: **Welcome Home

As the door swung open, Ami prepared herself for the worse situation possible. Nuclear missiles being thrown at her would've been better than Mia's high pitched crying. Mia ran out of the house crying, flinging herself at Vince, who in return threw his arms around her and buried his face in her hair.

Leon and Letty appeared behind Mia, their mouths hanging open at the person in front of them. Samantha hid behind her mother, wrapping her arms around her legs and burying her face into her body. Mia pulled away from Vince, wiping the tears away from her eyes and turned towards Ami. "Amira," she whispered, shaking her head softly.

"In the flesh," Ami replied, smiling weakly. Mia glanced between Ami and Vince, not quite understanding what was going on. "Ami did me the favor of driving me down," he said, walking over to them and ushering them into the house. Mia nodded and followed suit.

"Okay, well Leon will show you guys to my room so you can wash up and what not," Vince said, motioning to their duffel bags. Letty and Mia sat down on the couch, still stuck in awe at the arrival of their old friend and company.

Leon smiled weakly at Ami and Samantha, grabbing their bags and walking towards the stairs. The girls were lead up the stairs and down the hall towards a room at the far end of the house. The room was set up with a king sized bed, a dresser, nightstands and a TV with a stand. It was clean and sparsely decorated, much like the rest of the house.

After Leon parted, Amira and Sam sat on the edge of the bed, processing the events of the last 24 hours. "You okay?" Ami asked, looking at Samantha who was currently sitting on the bed with her hands folded in her lap. The young girl nodded and watched as her mom stretched out on the bed and she followed suit, falling asleep moments later.

--

"I can't believe that you would even think of her, let alone let her drive you down here," Letty said, cracking her knuckles. Vince glared at her and shifted in his position on the couch. "She could've turned her back on me and said no, Letty. I had nowhere else to go seeing as I was left to die by my supposed friends," he snarled, Mia changing the bandage on his arm.

"He's right, Let. She could've dropped a dime on him but she risked not only her life but her daughter's life to help him. The least we could do is be civilized while she's here," Leon said, standing up from the couch and pacing the room.

Letty shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest. "What do you think Mia?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. Mia passed Vince a bottle of pills and glanced around the room. "Why does this rest on me? My last name doesn't make me the head honcho at all times," she replied, standing up from the couch and walking over to Letty, checking on the gash on the side of her forehead.

"She's staying and that's it," Vince roared, standing up from the couch and downing some pills. He made his way to the foot of the stairs and stood there. "We had our differences in the past guys, but she's family no matter what," he said in a rather sad tone, before walking up the stairs, towards his room.

---

The house was a small investment, as Dom called it, for their future. Really it was a haven for him. When others asked him about his time in prison, he would usually say something along the lines of death before getting locked up again- and he meant it.

It was a comfortable three story house, two miles away from the beach. The backyard was small and the four bedrooms and the basement gave the team more than enough room to be about. It was a local tourist area; somewhere they could blend in easily and continue to live their lives comfortably. But there was still something missing. The glue that held them together- Dominic Toretto.

Mia sat in her room that afternoon, staring off into the sky, wondering where the hell her brother was and what the hell the rest of them were going to do. She never had to worry in her life about being left alone. When her parents died, Dom took over and when Dom went away, Vince took care of her. Dom was gone once again and now Vince was preoccupied with other things- so who would take care of her and her family now?

The house was paid off, that wasn't one of her concerns, but she did worry about what the future had in store for them. The truck heists were mentioned various times on the news, but no names were announced. She had no doubt in her mind that the police knew it was the team and that they were looking for them.

Mia Toretto sighed softly, rubbing her face with her hands. "After Jesse went down, Dom and Brian took off after the Trans. The Trans went down and Dom and Brian disappeared. We don't know anything about Jess and it's eating Leon up inside not knowing if his little brother is even alive," she said, turning to Amira, who was sitting on the corner of her bed.

"And you have no way to get in contact with neither one of them?" Ami asked, standing up from the bed and making her way towards Mia who was perched on the windowsill. Mia shook her head and frowned. "The cops got their hands on all of our cell phones. We had to ditch them and get new ones when we got into town," she replied.

Ami nodded slowly and sat down next to Mia. "I promised Vince I would spend a couple of days here, so when I head back up I'll go check up Jess for Leon," she whispered softly. "Be careful, Amira. If the cops even catch a whiff of us on you, they'll make your life and living hell," she said.

"What happened, Mi? I didn't know things were going that bad for DT. I always heard that you guys were still making a killing on the race scene," Ami said. Mia laughed sadly and shook her head. "DT was still running things on the race scene, but Dom always wanted more than the next guy. That's how he proved that even though he couldn't make it legit, he would rock at being illegal."

She nodded and sighed. "The team has always taken care of each other, Mi, and this bump in the road won't be the one that will tear you apart," Ami said, throwing an arm around her shoulders and smiling. "Now let me introduce you to someone."

---

Mia and Amira opened the door to Vince's room and stopped short. The big and burly guy was stretched out on the bed with the small girl nestled into his side. Vince's mouth was hanging open and he was lightly snoring. Samantha was currently sucking on her thumb and had her other hand tangled in her curly hair.

Mia smiled and motioned for them to exit the room. She grinned from ear to ear as they stepped into the hallway, chuckling lightly. "Don't say it," Amira warned, walking down the hall, towards Mia's room. "Everybody and their mother's know that that's Vince's daughter," she said, following her into the bedroom.

Ami glanced at Mia and crossed her arms over her chest. "Listen, Vince told me about all the indiscretions and there's only one way to really know," she said. Ami cocked an eyebrow at Mia and stared her down. "Paternity test, Ami. It's fast, easy and painless."


	6. Memories

**A/N: **This chapter crosses the line, but this fic was meant to be serious and dramatic. So if you think you're gonna throw a hissy fit and report me, then by all means don't read this story any more. Enjoy!

**Chapter 6: **Memories

Amira slid into bed softly, as if trying not to disturb the air that was around her. She didn't quite understand why she was doing what she was going, but it suddenly felt right. She packed up and left her home and drove down to Mexico with her daughter and a wanted felon. She put her and her daughter at risk and now she was sleeping in HIS bed. She shook her head softly, bringing up the edge of the sheet beneath her chin.

Vince and Samantha were still snuggled up in her bed, so Mia so kindly suggested that she take Vince's place. The room reeked of him. The linens in the room oozed off that masculine smell that he carried within his pores and frankly, it turned her on. Not that she minded, it had been a while for her, but she felt oddly at home in his bed. She felt safe, not only for herself but for her daughter also.

She thought back to some of the times that she felt fear in her heart for her daughter- which were few but scary enough to left faint scars. Once she found her boyfriend at the time, in bed with Sam, his hands in between her thighs and his penis on her thigh. After that, Amira swore off men. She refused to give her daughter a chance to get sexually abused like she had been.

Ever since then, Ami carried her gun at all times. She closed her eyes and thought about all the drama she had endured and silently vowed to save her daughter from all of things that had gone wrong in her own life. Deep inside she felt that Samantha was safer at Vince's side rather than at her side, but the immense rift between her and Vince had caused more damage than she had expected.

_She had just turned 15 and her father had decided to celebrate with her. It was the first time that she had allowed Vince to see exactly what her father did to her. She never admitted it openly, but he knew. He saw the bruises on her body when they made love and the fear in her eyes when any man came near her._

_It was the usual routine. At around 12 at night Amira would sneak out of her house and walk the two blocks to Vince's. He would leave his bedroom window open and she would climb up the rain pipe that he had reinforced for her body weight. Vince would be waiting for her in bed, where they would talk the night away or watch movies until the sun came up._

_But that night was different. As she stepped through the window, Vince shot up in bed, a scowl on his face. Amira walked into the soft glow coming off of the television and glanced at him. Vince shook his head and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her. She flinched and choked back a sob. _

_He took a step back and peeled off her torn sundress, which was dirty from when her father had dragged her on the floor, revealing a ripped up bra and a dirty pair of underwear. A tear slipped down his face as he recognized the blood on her panties. "Don't fucking let him do this you!" He roared, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her towards his body._

_He threw his arms around her broken body and sobbed into her shoulder, gripping onto her like as if she was slipping away. "I tried to make him stop, but I couldn't," she whispered between sobs. Vince pulled away rapidly and walked over to his dresser. He rummaged through it, throwing clothes on the floor and pulled out a gun. "No, please Vince. You don't have to do this," she pleaded._

_"Next time that fucker even looks at you kill him Ami," he whispered, placing the gun in her hand and wrapping her fingers around it. She shook her head and threw the gun on the bed, her body shaking with fear. Vince grabbed on to her face and stared at her._

_Seconds later, her breathing evened out and she stopped shaking. They stood inches away from each other, staring deeply into each others eyes, breathing slowly. "I won't let this happen anymore, Ami," he whispered, "I'll kill him if I have to." Ami shook her head slowly and drew in a deep breath, realizing what she had to do._

Vince slowly opened the bedroom and stuck his head in. Ami popped an eye open, mentally going over the gun that was currently underneath the pillow, right next to her cell phone. As Vince stepped into the room, she relaxed, recognizing the familiar shape.

She watched as he stepped over to the bed and shed his clothes, dropping down to his boxers and stretched out his body. She eyed him up and down, wondering how he had stayed so fit over the years. His body hadn't changed much. His shoulders were a little broader and the tattoos he had added over the years didn't look bad at all. A shiver ran through her body as she remembered the good times that they had shared- both in and out of bed.

"Didn't mean to wake you," he whispered, struggling to pull off his tank top. Ami got out of bed and assisted him, taking into consideration his busted up arm. "It's okay," she replied, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Vince walked around to the other side of the bed and slid in beneath the sheets, sighing softly. "I'm sorry I got you mixed up in this," he said, reaching over and touching her elbow softly. A shiver ran through her body as she remembered whispering those same exact words to him the night that everything changed in both their lives. In the back of her mind she heard the same exact gunshot she heard that night and the sickening thud of a body hitting the floor. It was the night that everything had changed.

She flipped around and stared at him intently, falling into his immensely blue eyes and she began to cry. Vince frowned, not understanding what had just transcribed between the two of them, but he knew exactly what she needed. He turned on his side and opened up his arm for her, motioning for her to cuddle with him, which she did gladly.

Amira nestled into his arms, her face falling into the crook of his neck, like as if she had never been gone.


	7. Back Home

**A/N: **Typed in a hurry so expect lots of mistakes… I hope you'll get the flow of things.

**Chapter 7: **Back Home

When life changing events occur, it has a reverse effect on people. And that was the case in the Toretto household that morning. Leon, who was usually the people person, was sulking in a living room corner, chewing the fuck out of a toothpick. Letty, who was usually out and about, was tucked away underneath a car in the driveway, tinkering with its engine. Vince, who was usually the grouch, was sitting at the backyard picnic table playing tic-tac-toe with Samantha and Amira, who was usually the active one, was hidden away upstairs in her room.

Mia shrugged her shoulders, sensing the tension in the house, and got back to the casserole that was in the oven. With Dom gone, she knew her responsibility and she felt that she owed it to her family to make everything right. She would need some assistance but she knew that she could make it work.

She closed the oven door and threw her dish towel on the bed, making her way out the kitchen and into the living room. Mia walked up the stairs and stopped in front of Amira's door. She knocked softly and when she didn't receive a response, she opened the door and found Amira still in bed.

"Do you remember that one time I caught you talking to Johnny Tran behind Vince's back?" She said, entering the bedroom and slamming the door shut behind her.

--

Amira exited the room with a frown on her face. She knew Mia meant well but it didn't seem like she did today. Blackmail could be a bitch and that's the card that she had dealt Ami today. Amira walked down the stairs in jeans, a black tank top and black flip flops on. Her face was framed by a big pair of dark sunglasses and a black beanie was resting on her head.

Mia emerged seconds after her, a smug smile on her face. "Call me when you get there," she said in a sing-song voice. Amira headed into the kitchen and out the back door while giving her the middle finger. She walked over the two persons at the picnic table and groaned. "Mia wants me to run an errand," she growled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Alright, I'll come with," Vince said, throwing the pen in his hand down and standing up. "Not today buddy. I gotta head over the border," she said, motioning for Sam to stand up. Vince nodded and sat back down. "You're coming back, right?" He asked, but kept his line of vision on Sam.

The small girl looked up her mom and stared her down. It was the few times that she resembled Amira and when she did it was scary. "My stare downs don't work on me, Samantha. We will return tomorrow, so don't freak," she said, walking towards the front of the house. The small girl smiled and walked around the picnic table, throwing her arms around Vince's neck.

"I love you," she whispered, kissing him on the cheek and running after her mother.

---

Amira pulled into the hospital parking lot after passing by her house for a couple of things. She had called the school and explained that there had been a family emergency that required them to be out of the country and had packed a few more essentials. Half an hour later they headed to the hospital.

Samantha, with her school book bag in tow, climbed out of the car and ran towards the hospital's entrance, a few steps in front of her mom. Amira walked over to the reception area and chatted with the secretary for a couple of moments. She slipped her the lie that she was engaged to Jesse and that they were planning to adopt her foster care niece (Samantha) next month after the wedding. Moments later, she had his room number and was even informed that the officers on duty were in between shift changes.

The duo jetted towards the elevator and hurried towards Jesse's room before the next shift of officers arrived. When they entered the room, Amira was shocked and Samantha began to cry. Jesse's small body was covered his bandages and he was hooked up to all sorts of machines. I.V.'s and tubes were coming out of everywhere.

"Jess," Ami whispered, motioning for Samantha to sit down on the chair next to the bed. The body on the bed began to stir. "Don't move, hun. It's me, Amira. Mia sent me down here to see if you were alright. Don't say nothing to the police, Jess. They have no evidence against you. All they got is the racing and the beef between Tran and you. I will find a way to get you out of this. Just focus on getting better and I will handle the rest," she whispered, standing over the bed.

She smiled softly at his broken smile and motioned for Samantha to give her the book bag. She pulled out a camcorder and turned it on. "It's nice to see you, Ami. How's everybody? Did they make it alright?" He said, his voice cracking. "Everyone's fine, Jess. Mia is still trying to get Vince to clean up his room and Leon is still trying to beat me and my car. He just doesn't understand that ovaries make a big difference," she said, recording Jesse. "Say something for the folks at home."

"Umm…Hey dawgs…. Umm… Leon give up, she has you beat. Vince don't give into to Mia and her Swiffer. Mia do you think you can mail me some of your mashed potatoes with garlic? You're daughter is so cute, Vince," he said. Ami frowned and shut the camcorder off. "Very funny, Jess. Team Toretto is out to get on my damn nerves," she replied, stuffing the camcorder back into the bag.

She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and kept digging into her bag. She pulled out a laptop and placed it on the table beside the bed. "You'll figure out how to get in contact with me, won't you? Anything or problems hit me up, Jess. Don't forget you got a sister in me, no matter what," she whispered, closing the bag and motioning for Samantha to stand up.

"She's shy I see, just like her uncle Jess," he replied, waving her goodbye with his free hand. Amira nodded to Jesse and exited the room, running towards the elevator. As soon as they hit the ground floor, Amira spotted officers at the reception desk and walked rapidly the other way.

As soon as they hit the parking lot they broke out into a free run, but it was to no avail. When they reached the car, they found a suited male leaning against it. "Can I help you?" She asked, stepping in front of Samantha.

"I'm guessing you're the Amira Estevez that this car is registered to. I'm Detective William Lyons," the man said, stretching out his hand and smiling lightly. Ami stared at the hand in front of her and refused to shake it. Lyons cleared his throat and pulled away the hand he was offering, placing it in his pocket. "I see you don't plan on playing nice," he whispered, stepping away from the car.

Amira took the alarm off the car and glared at him. "Get in the car, Sam," she said, keeping her eyes on the detective. "I know you have ties to the Toretto hoodlums and I will find them. If it wasn't for that cute little receptionist I was seeing on the side I wouldn't have even thought to look into Mr. Vincent Casiano's past or even his banking records. Joint accounts at one time I see. Close? Murderers? Lovers? Parents?"

Ami took a step towards the detective and cocked an eyebrow. "You have no evidence and you sure as hell don't have a clue what you're talking about. I majored in law and minored in psychology, so whatever you got coming my way I'll gladly take on," she said. Lyons nodded slowly and took a step back, holding up his hands.

"Your reputation follows you. I was told you wouldn't be an easy cookie to crack and now I see. Stay in line and definitely in touch, Amira. I'll be keeping an eye on you," he said, before walking away. She waited until he was a few feet out of range before getting into her car and speeding off onto the highway. "Put your seatbelt on," she said, reaching under her car seat and opening her NOS tanks.

When they had reached desert road, she put her car to good use.

She had one more stop to make.


	8. Coldness

**Chapter 8: **Coldness

Amira knew and understood the risk that she was currently taking. She had ties to the Toretto clan and the cops knew about it. It wouldn't be long before the cops started asking questions and investigating her life. She had a kid in the backseat and was running errands for wanted criminals.

_Hmmm…this wasn't what I had in mind when I woke up this morning_, Amira thought to herself as she watched Samantha in the backseat. The small girl was currently struggling not to fall asleep and Ami secretly wished she did. It meant less questions and not having to come up with answers she sure as hell didn't have.

Things were complicated for sure, but she knew that sooner or later her past was going to catch up with her; it was just a matter of time. It didn't matter how much distance she had tried to put between her and the team, she was caught up. Amira tapped her fingernails on the steering wheel, having second thoughts about what she had gotten herself into.

She was in too deep and it was too late to back out. The cop had her information; he had made sure that he let her know that he was going to be riding her hard. Amira shook her head softly and pulled onto an abandoned road. She was currently in the middle of nowhere- it was literally nowhere. There were no gas stations, no stores, no diners, no trees, no people, no lights- there was nothing. Just barely there pavement and her.

Deep inside, she was scared. Her body yelled to turn back around, to go home and mind her business. She was scared and there was nothing she could do. She had to go forward with her mission as she liked to call it, and finish what she set out to do.

When she left that day from Mexico, she was a woman with a mission. She would find out about Jesse and find out where Dom was. She had been all over town and hadn't been able to get word on where Dom was hiding out, but she had a feeling that had lead her all the way out towards the desert. It was so far and a road that was deserted Ami had packed for the worst situation.

Ami had a small stash of food and water, some tools and a can of gas, just in case. She hadn't traveled the road in years, but from what she remembered it wasn't an easy one to travel. She shook her head, trying to clear out all the what ifs that were in it.

Her thoughts were running a hundred miles an hour. She kept jumping back and forth between ideas, imagining the worst and expecting the end all. The inside of the car was quiet, making her focus on how hard her heart was beating. Her eyes kept darting back and forth on the road as she expected someone to come out of nowhere and start shooting at her.

Before long, she had come to the end of the road- her destination. At the end of the road there was a 2 floor house. Time had aged it, so it looked old and abandoned, but it was far from that. She smiled lightly at the memories that came flooding back to her but she shook them out of her head. She shifted into park and turned the car off, taking in a deep breath along with her surroundings.

It was pitch black and there were no lights coming from inside the house. She glanced into her rearview mirror at the small girl in her backseat that was asleep, slightly snoring. She reached underneath her car seat and pulled out her gun, making sure it was loaded and that the safety was off. She cocked it back and took in a deep breath, climbing out of the car and turning the alarm on. The coldness of the desert brought chills.

There was no need for her to try to be quiet. The desert was silent, so any fool would've heard her car a mile away. The path from where she parked her car towards the porch of the house was like child's play for her. She had been here many times before for long periods of time.

To all those that used it, it had served as a getaway from the city. Days of partying would occur there, friendships were made, tragedies happened and love was forsaken, all underneath one roof.

**A/N: ** This chapter was short because I want the next couple of chapters to be about the team and their little getaway, but above all the days of partying, the friendships that were made, the tragedies that happened and the love that was forsaken.


	9. THE BEGINNING OF SUMMER

**A/N: **The next couple of chapters will be in the past before TFATF and will concentrate more on the house and how close knit the team became during their summer there. Please keep in mind that during the time that the team is at the summer house Mia, Letty and Amira are 17, Dom, Vince, and Leon are 19 and Jesse is 18. I thought this would be a great piece of info for the coming chapters just in case you get a little lost. The summer that I am creating is the summer before Mr. Toretto's death and Dom's incarceration. You should also be aware that the chapters that focus on the past and in the summer house will have CAPITALIZED titles to symbolize the difference between past and present.

**Chapter 9: THE BEGINNING OF SUMMER**

Back when Mr. and Mrs. Toretto were still alive, before puberty and before all the drama, the Toretto clan bought the house as another investment. Real estate agents claimed that the surrounding areas of the house would be under development soon and that the value of the property would skyrocket. So they bought the house and began to fix it up. Mr. Toretto put in all the hard work and pretty soon Mrs. Toretto finally had her dream summer home, even if it was just an hour or so away from Echo Park.

The surrounding areas never did go under development- it was just desert to anyone that saw it, with no potential for anything. After Mrs. Toretto death, the young Torettos, Mia and Dom, soon took over the house. Barbie dolls and race cars were found all over the place. Mr. Toretto used the summer home as a way to reflect on his late wife. He would spend the lazy afternoons doing test runs in his car or teaching Dom and Vince about the essentials of a good tune-up.

That's how it all started- lazy summer afternoons. Mia would bring Letty and Letty would bring Amira to gang up on Mia. Dom would bring Vince and Vince would bring the new kids from up the street, Leon and Jesse. It was the summer when everything changed and the summer that Mr. Toretto figured that Dom and Vince were old enough to watch after the girls on their own while he was down in Texas for some races. It was the summer when friendships turned into love and when jealousy turned into a full-fledged war.

--

Mia sneered at Amira and threw the magazine that she was reading on the couch. "The only reason you even want to do this is because you want Dom to look at you in your little skimpy bikini," she said, directing her words at Letty, who was currently sitting on the arm of a lounge chair arranging her bikini top. "I don't know what you're talking about," Letty replied.

Amira laughed, knowing that Mia was clearly onto Letty. Her obsession with Dom was driving Mia up the wall. The two had just gotten together and she was currently rubbing it in Mia's face that she was the only virgin in the group. "And you just go along with her because it'll give you another reason to be in Vince's sight," she said to Ami.

Amira feigned shock and cackled loudly. "Come on, girl. Vince brought that guy from up the street. I got a little two piece upstairs that would look great on you," she said, winking at her. Mia stood up from her chair and pulled off the big t-shirt she was wearing, revealing a modest baby blue one piece bathing suit. "What's wrong with my bathing suit?" Letty and Ami looked around innocently.

"You two are something," Mia muttered, making her way towards the back of the house. The landscape behind the house was truly dry desert, but they had laid out lawn chairs around a small inflatable pool and had tacked up an old basketball hoop. The guys would horse around daily, playing football or basketball, while the girls sat around and tanned, gossiping.

The trio stretched out on the lawn chair, each placing a pair of sunglasses on their faces. "You guys are going to dry your brains out," Jesse said, walking past the girls, a bunch of tools in his hand. "Shove a wrench in it," Letty snarled, flipping him the bird. Jesse walked over to the rest of the guys who were working on a car, trying to rebuild its engine.

"Does he have to take his shirt off?" Mia groaned, motioning to Leon. "The man couldn't be anymore arrogant," Letty said, laughing. "I think he's sort of cute," Amira said, rubbing suntan lotion onto her arms. Both Mia and Letty sat up in their seats and stared at her. "WHAT?!?!"

"You would cheat on Vince with Leon?" Letty asked, placing her sunglasses on the top of her head. "No. I said I thought Le was cute and by the way, me and V aren't technically together," she replied. Mia scoffed and flopped back into her chair. "Yeah, right! You spend every night together and I know you and him get your freak on. So if that's not together then what is it?" Mia asked.

Letty laughed. "What do I have to do to get you to say the word fuck Mia?" Amira chuckled at Letty's comment and put the top back on her suntan lotion. "Yes, we do spend the nights together but we've never actually done anything. To Vince I'm Amira, his best friend and that's about it," she replied.

"Sure," Mia said sarcastically. Ami glanced over at her, not understanding her reaction. "What's the problem, Mia? Everyone knows about his obsession with you and how much you supposedly distaste him. Why would you care if there's something going on between me and him?" Letty cocked an eyebrow and sighed, knowing where the conversation was heading.

"I don't care. I just think that with everything that's going on with your father, you shouldn't be sleeping in his bed," Mia replied, instantly regretting what had slipped out of her mouth. Amira jumped up from the lawn chair and ripped the sunglasses from her face, throwing them on the ground. She walked over to Mia and glared at her.

"How the fuck do you know what's going on with my father? You're just jealous as shit that I could actually get a guy to like me!" Amira yelled. The guys turned around and glanced over at the commotion, an alerted look on their faces. Mia glanced up at Ami solemnly, her mouth slack with no words to say.

As Ami spotted Vince taking a step towards her, she took off running towards the house, not wanting then to see her tears. She ran inside and up the stairs, into her room. The room she shared with Vince. Everywhere she turned there was something that reminded her of him. His clothes, his guitar picks, his cologne, his shoes. Everywhere.

Seconds later, Vince entered the room, a guilty look on his face. He watched as Amira began to pick up her belongings and shove them into a duffel bag. "What are you doing?" He asked, his voice shaky. "I'm packing Einstein. I'm leaving this shitty hell hole," she muttered, brushing past him and towards the closet.

"What are you talking about? You love it here, Amira. I'm sorry that I told them about your dad, but they had questions and I had to answer them," he replied. Amira stopped walking and faced him, dropping the bag on the floor. "No, Vince. I had to answer the questions, not you." She walked over to the dresser and began pulling out shirts.

"Stop it, Ami. I'm not gonna let you leave because of something so stupid," he said, walking over to her and pulling her away from the dresser. She shook herself out of his grasp and glared at him. "I know your favorite movies, sayings, meals. I know how you like your underwear folded. How you watch soap operas when you're by yourself so no one makes fun of you. I know how you cry yourself to sleep at night. I know how it feels to be next to you in bed. I know how I feel when you touch me. I know all this shit and yet I don't know how you feel about me, Vince. Everyone has their own ideas about what we do up here at night, but I'm still, Amira, the girl down the street, with a pedophile for a father. The girl that you take into your arms every night and tell her everything is going to be alright. The girl that you claim as yours when we are alone but in public I'm one of your best friends," she said, crossing her arms over her chest and taking in a deep breath.

"What do you want me to say? That I love you? That I see you as more than a friend? You are vulnerable, Amira. You are dealing with so much shit and I don't think you need that in your life," he replied. "And Mia does?" Vince's eyes shifted over to her rapidly and he sighed. "How do you know that I don't need someone to show me how it feels to really be loved? That I need to someone to show me exactly a man should make love to a woman and not abuse her?"

"You don't know what you're talking about," he whispered, running a hand over his face. When his hand passed over his eyes, he found Amira staring back at him with no top on. "Tell me that when I change in front of you, you don't watch me. That when I climb into your bed you don't shift the other way because you're scared that I'll feel the boner you're sporting," she replied, taking a step towards him.

He held his hands up and gaped at her. "This is not going the way I planned," he replied. Ami shook her head and walked up to him, pressing her body up against his. "She can't give you what you want Vince. She doesn't even want you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on the tip of her toes, bringing her lips to his ear. "You can't fight this, V. We're made for each other," she whispered, placing a soft kiss where her warm breath was.

Vince glanced down at her, his thoughts running a mile a minute. He knew where this was going- straight to his bed, but this was his Amira, not some skank that Dom would attract. He knew he couldn't, wouldn't and shouldn't hurt her, but he couldn't deny the feeling that rose in the pit of his stomach every time she did crawl into his bed or every time she even took the time out to make him feel special.

As his hand found his way to the small of her back, he thought about Mia. The girl he had been in love with since forever. She was the girl that wouldn't give him the time of day. He glanced back down at Amira, who had been there even when he was his usual arrogant self and knew deep in his heart that he wouldn't find another one like her. They were both damaged goods and they were both in need of some healing.


	10. REALIZING PART 1

**Chapter 10: **REALIZING PART 1

_Past_

Everyone watch as Vince clobbered out of the house and managed to find his way towards the table. Amira soon followed dressed in a light blue sundress and matching flip flops. After her outburst, Vince dragged her into bed and held her, almost suffocating her. He refused to touch her, Amira ending up in tears. Eventually as the sun went down and the room cooled, they fell asleep together, waking at Dom's undying request for their presence at the picnic table.

Dinner at the summer house was a picture perfect event. Jesse and Leon had strung old Christmas lights around the back of the house and they placed the picnic table near them. They would usually eat Mia's mashed potatoes and corn and Dom's barbecue chicken underneath a mix of moonlight and Christmas lights. After grace was said, usually by the first one that reached in for the food, the table would erupt into a mix of different conversations. You had to be a pro to be able to keep up with all of them at the same time. Missing out on one second of a conversation would result in a missed joke.

"No races tonight?" Leon asked, shoving a spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth. Dom nodded his head and took swig from his Corona. "Hector said that there's something big going down by the piers tonight. Supposedly some richie riches are gonna slum it with us," Letty said, passing Amira the bowl full of salad. Jesse flicked a piece of corn off his spoon that hit Vince square in the face.

He glanced up slowly and growled at the smaller man, who stared back at him. The entire table ceased any movement and stared at Jesse. "Fuck," he whispered underneath his breath, knowing that he going to experience pain anytime soon. He glanced over at Dom wide eyed and motioned to Vince. "You're on your own," Dom said, grabbing another piece of chicken. Jesse stood up from the table slowly, preparing to run if necessary.

"Oh sit down, Jesse. If anything Vince should thank you for your delivery system. Screw trying to go through the motions of eating like a civilized man, let the cave man eat!" Amira said, shaking some salt on her potatoes.

Seconds later a big glob of mashed potatoes went flying onto her forehead, sliding down her nose and falling onto her plate. She glanced up at the smirking Vince and smiled back at him- before reaching into her salad bowl and throwing the remaining salad at him.

The table erupted into madness as Mia flung a piece of chicken breast at Letty, who in return threw her cup of soda at Leon. Dom was the only one that was spared, due to the fear that he sparked in them.

After everything had died down, the clan was spread out all over the living room, ignoring deadly looks from Mia. "You guys better not get anything dirty or else. It's too hot out here for me to be cleaning up after you guys," she said, flicking some mashed potatoes off of her tank top.

Dom emerged from the kitchen and grinned as he took in the chaos that they had caused. "We're leaving for the races in about an hour," he declared, making his way up the stairs to change. Mia groaned, knowing what entailed. She was too scared to stay at home by herself and every time she went to the races, Dom's ugly, overprotective side reared it's head.

"Come on, Ami. I got just the outfit for you," Letty said, dragging Amira by her arm, towards the stairs. Amira looked over at the insane look on Letty's face and knew she would probably regret whatever she had in mind. She took in a deep breath and let herself be led and locked away in Letty's dungeon.

---

As they emerged from the house they were dressed to the nines. Vince motioned for Amira to ride with him but she shook her head no. "I'll drive down with Letty," she replied, making her way over to Letty's car. He stared after her, his eyes absentmindedly running up and down her body, which were elongated by the black pair of pumps she was wearing.

"Since when do you ride with me?" Letty asked, as they climbed into the car. Amira shrugged her shoulders and clicked her seat belt into place. She watched as Mia climbed into Dom's car, Vince into his own and Jesse into Leon's car. They all pulled out after Dom's exit, following him through the back desert roads, where they broke speed limits and all the driving laws they could think of.

"He made it clear he didn't want anything to do with me," Amira said, breaking the deafening silence. Letty scoffed and cocked an eyebrow. "Typical Vince. He's an ass, Amira, don't pay attention to him," she replied. Ami shrugged once again and took in a deep breath. "Maybe I'm kidding myself. He doesn't want some young, inexperienced smart-mouthed girl like me. He wants one of those blonde bimbos that only know how to follow orders and please a man, the ones that are at the races all the time," she replied.

Letty shook her head and sped the car up. "So you're giving up on V?" Amira nodded, staring straight ahead at the blue car in front of them. "He practically told me he would never be interested in me. I'm not one to beg and I won't start now for any guy," Ami replied. "Well in that outfit, I'm sure you'll find someone tonight who wouldn't mind begging."

Amira glanced down at the low-rise tight jean capris she was wearing. They were Mia's and since she had "blossomed" more than her, the jeans were cutting off all circulation. Letty had shoved her into one of Mia's black halter tops and matching black pumps, and claimed her as a brand new woman.

Amira grinned slightly, hoping that maybe Letty was right. Racing while staying at the summer house usually led to some insane wild parties afterward, and she hoped that tonight wouldn't be any different. After her conversation with Vince that afternoon, she felt low. She was actually disgusted with herself at the fact that she had begged him for a little attention. She promised herself that if he wouldn't give it, she would find it somewhere else.

---

The trio of girls leaned against Letty's car, taking in the night's events. "I don't see why everyone except me can have a car. Letty shouldn't even be driving that death trap of hers but Dom allows her to," Mia said, crossing her arms over her chest and muttering underneath her breath. "Cheer up, Mia. If it makes you feel any better I have to be shuffled around from car to car also," Amira said, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "And there is nothing wrong with my car. I'm still working on it," Letty threw in, glancing over at a guy that was making his way over to them.

"Here comes another one for Letty to chase off," Mia whispered to Amira, who in return chuckled. The guy approached them and introduced himself as Jimmy, of the locals that never got out much. After a few minutes of chatter, Jimmy's attention seemed to fall on Amira, who Letty would claim later on, was undressing Amira with his eyes.

"Jimmy would you give me and the girls some space. We'll look for you later," Letty said, shoving him aside with a shoulder. "What the fuck was that for?" Amira said, watching Jimmy walk away. "If you want to live to see 18, you better cool it, Ami. Vince has been watching you and he don't look happy," Letty said.

"Fuck Vince," Amira replied without a thought. She glanced over at Mia for some support and found her staring wide-eyed behind her. Amira took in a deep breath and sighed. Vince was standing behind her and she was in for it. The girls walked away before Amira could turn around and face him.

"Fuck me, right?" He said, taking a step towards her. "Yeah, fuck you," she replied, coming toe to toe with him. "Watch yourself, Amira. You're pushing my buttons." She scoffed in his face and laughed. "I didn't come here with you, Vince. So I really don't give two shits if you're offend or not," she replied.

"Just remember who you go home to at night and whose bed you sleep in," he whispered with a small grin on his face. "Well maybe I won't sleep in your bed tonight and that's if I go home," she replied, an even bigger grin on her face.

Vince took a step back and nodded. "Just because you slapped on some makeup and put on a bra tonight, doesn't make you grown, Amira. Not everyone here is out for your best interest." She laughed in his face and cocked an eyebrow. "Glad to see that you finally noticed me, but it's too late for that," she said, before walking away.

He stared after her, cursing underneath his breath and shaking his head slowly.


	11. REALIZING PART 2

**Chapter 11: **REALIZING PART 2

_-Past-_

Amira climbed into Letty's car and smiled to herself. As they began the ride back towards the house, Letty began to tap her fingers on the steering wheel. Ami turned in her seat and watched her, knowing that a lecture was soon to follow. It was Mia's technique. She would usually take you out of your comfort zone by annoying you with some ridiculously small thing, then go in for the kill.

Ami watched her, patiently waiting, knowing that Letty wouldn't be far from a rant. "You attract some nobody and piss off Vince, then you tell him off and invite the guy over for the after party," Letty said, the tapping getting rougher and faster. Ami sighed and swallowed roughly. "Do you remember all those times before you and Dom got together, when you were head over heels for him and he wouldn't even look your way? That's how I feel, Letty. Maybe Vince and me aren't meant to be and maybe I should just stop pushing for something that isn't going to happen. It's time for me to move on and then maybe one day he'll recognize what he once had and never will have again," she replied.

Letty nodded, her fingers easing and gracing the steering wheel this time. "You have a point, Amira, but don't push too hard. Vince doesn't give way and if he decides to, it may not be for the best," she said, a small grin on her face. "Now can we party or what?"

---

By the time the girls made it to the house, the part was already in full swing. Leon was up against the porch, trying to sweet talk some blonde bimbo. Jesse was downing tequila shots with one of the other racers, while Dom was checking in with his esteemed guests. Amira automatically scanned the scene, watching Vince out of the corner of her eyes as he was pushing up on a nice looking red head. She shrugged it off, spotting her prize in the corner of the living room.

Ami glanced back at Letty, cocking an eyebrow and grinning. Letty nodded at her and made her way towards Dom. "You want something to drink?" Amira asked Jimmy, sliding up beside him. Jimmy smiled at her and eyed her from head to toe. "Anything you got to offer," he whispered, following her into the kitchen.

For the next hour or so, they sat at the kitchen table, throwing back shots and talking about anything that popped into their heads. Another male stuck his head into the room and motioned to Jimmy that they were leaving. He glanced over at her and pouted. With all the alcohol in her system, Amira leaned over and placed a kiss on his mouth, relishing in their softness. "Stop acting like you'll never see me again," she said. He nodded and smiled.

"Same time, same place next week?" He asked, a grin on his face. "Always." Amira stared after him as he walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. She turned around, a smile plastered on her face and sighed. She had a good feeling about Jimmy. She felt like a girl her age should be feeling, like a school girl crush. Usually with Vince she felt like she had to act more mature in order to keep up with him and his crew.

Ami shrugged and poured herself another shot, thinking of ways to keep herself entertained for the rest of the night. All she had to do was wait out the party and then go to sleep in Letty's room, which she wouldn't be using because she kept regular hours in Dom's room. "Is it over?" A rough voice asked behind her.

She jumped but rolled eyes upon realizing the it was none other than Vince. "Is what over?" She asked, slapping down her shot glass and wiping down the corners of her mouth. He sat down in front of her and took a swig from the bottle. "You're little junior high school stunt with the older senior," Vince said, smirking. She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes, staring at the wall behind him.

"You have to make your mind up, Amira. You can't hang in the minors and act like a little school girl but then turn around and throw back shots like you've been playing in the big leagues forever." She stood up from the table, slamming her hands down on it and walking out the back door. He followed her, itching for a good fight.

"All you want is for me to run after you, staring up your skirt and beg for some attention. We're past that point," he yelled after her. She froze and flipped around, pushing him away from her. "Yeah? Well maybe I do want you to chase me a little and not be such an ass. If you don't want me then I'm pretty sure there's another loser out there that won't mind taking me off your hands!" She yelled back.

Vince crossed his arms in front of his chest and cocked an eyebrow, watching her. "Yeah, I said it. You're a loser, V. That's the only reason I dock on your door every night, because no other girl in her right mind will put up with you and your stubbornness and your idiotic ideas. You're nothing but Dom's sidekick and that's it!"

He scoffed and threw his arms up. "Fine. You want to be my girlfriend, then that's it. Fights over, Amira. You're my girl. You managed to tie me down all for yourself. That's what you want and that's what you'll get," he yelled. Amira froze and watched him, her eyebrows scrunched together.

"Do you think I want to force you to want to be with me? Tonight was all about showing you what you're missing, but I guess I failed at that!" Vince scoffed once again and walked over to her, getting into her face. "You wanted me, you got me. And now that you got me you don't want me. Is it because I'm too much of a loser for you? Or maybe you just want me to take from you? Throw you and slap you around so that you feel loved."

She slapped him, her face turning redder than his. "Fuck you! No wonder your own family doesn't want you. You're coldhearted. You're a bastard. A loser that won't amount to nothing. You might as well hit me. That's the only way I'll ever feel anything for you again," she said, walking away. Amira disappeared inside the house, leaving Vince alone with his murderous thoughts.

He watcher her as she walked inside the house, slamming the door shut behind her. He shook his head and ran his hands over his face, trying to will away the night's events. He groaned, realizing that his life was a complete mess.


	12. CHECKING OUT THE COMPETITION

**Chapter 12: **CHECKING OUT THE COMPETITION

Letty and Mia walked into the kitchen, finding Dom and Ami laughing over a dismantled carburetor that they were currently fixing. They froze and stared at them, shocked that they were actually in the same room and interacting without trying to outdo each other. They were competitive down to the bone.

"So Dom's telling me about this thing called race wars that Hector's trying to get us to go to," Ami said, passing him a wrench from the toolbox at her feet. "Race wars? Oh brother. Does this mean more cars, racing and mayhem?" Mia asked, reaching for a Snapple in the fridge. Letty jumped up and down, excited at the idea.

"It's about two weeks from now, so I guess we can start training the newest driver on the DT team," Dom said, winking at Ami, who in return jumped out of the chair and hugged him. Mia rolled her eyes, while Letty giggled evilly. "Another one bites the dust," Mia muttered, heading for the living rom.

Amira ran over to Letty and threw an arm around her waist. "Do you know what this means?" Dom asked, an eyebrow cocked. "That I finally have a partner in crime?" Letty asked, winking at him. He shook his head and stood up from the table, approaching them. "This means that you are now entitled to having a shift at either the garage or the store. You have to keep your grades up and help out around the house. I'll look into getting you a car as soon as I can. And once you show me that you can handle racing and your car, you get the green light on moving in with us," he said, before exiting the kitchen and heading to the front of the house, carburetor in tow.

Ami stared after him, her face scrunched up. "What's wrong?" Letty asked, glancing between her and Dom's retreating back. "I'm happy that I'm finally getting some recognition around here, but I don't know about being around the house and moving in like that." Letty groaned and flopped down into a kitchen chair. She shook her head and slapped herself on the forehead.

"Please don't do this. Don't tell me that when I finally have a partner in crime that isn't scared shitless of driving faster than 65 MPH, she's going bye bye. You're sure about being around the house and moving in, you just aren't sure about Vince," she said. Amira shook her head and sighed. "What should I do?"

Letty shook her head and laughed. "This isn't my place to say, but if you don't take Dom up on his offer, then you'll be stuck at home for the rest of your life. This is the easy way out, Ami. Dom is offering you a roof, a car and a job. All you have to do is do some chores and stay in school. Everyone in this house has issues, no one will fault you for leaving your house and staying here. You'll need to squash this drama with Vince or it'll be a bitch to put up with him."

Ami nodded and smiled at her new best friend. "Fine, tonight before the races I'll apologize to Vince and make the peace with him. Now, can we go out on a drive?" Letty jumped up at the mention of driving and ran out to the kitchen, laughing like a mad woman.

---

Vince grunted at the knock on the door and walked over to the other side of the room, opening the door. He came face to face with Amira, holding a plate of food. "I brought you a peace offering," she said, handing him the plate. V glanced down at the lasagna and peas that were on the plate and smiled. "Thanks," he mumbled, placing the plate on his dresser.

He was wearing a pair of jeans and no shirt, glancing around the room. "In the black duffel bag underneath the bed," she said, taking a seat on a spare chair that was in the corner of the room. "How do you know what I'm looking for?" He said, reaching underneath the bed. "I'm guessing since I haven't done any laundry in the last week, the only clean shirt you own that is clean."

Vince chuckled and indeed pulled out a clean shirt- the last one. "I didn't know we were chummy again," he said, slipping into the shirt. "Actually, I came up here to discuss something with you," she replied, standing up from the chair and walking over to him. Ami pushed Vince back onto the bed and cleared her throat.

He stared up at her, drinking her in from head to toe. He spent the night tossing and turning in his bed, partly because she wasn't by his side and also because he felt like such an ass. He spent the morning realizing that maybe she deserved more credit than what he gave her. Vince thought about how she was transforming right in front of his eyes into a woman. Not even three weeks ago she was running around in ponytails and cargos, but right now she was dressed in slacks, heels, and a halter that left very little to the imagination. If he didn't know her, he would try to pick her up, take her home and show her what the ole coyote was made of, but he knew better. He was hers and she was his.

"I don't want to argue anymore with you. I've made up my mind and I won't change it for nobody or anything. Dom has offered me a place on the team and a place in the house. I'm moving my stuff out of your room tomorrow and into Letty's. We've both seen that we can no longer be together or whatever it was that we were. So I propose that we keep the peace and try to be friends," she blabbered out.

Vince stared at her, not thinking she would be giving up so easily. "That's it?" Amira stared into his intensely blue eyes and wondered if she was doing the right thing. She watched as he teared up a little bit, but as fast as he had teared, they cleared up. She nodded, confirming that feeling that he had at the pit of his stomach to be true. She was gone.

---

Letty laughed and winked at Amira, who currently had Jimmy wrapped around her waist. She watched as Vince seethed with rage a couple of feet away. So far things in the house were kosher, excluding V's current anger management problem. It had been about two weeks since Vince and Amira had called it quits and in about 3 days, they would be driving off to the infamous race wars, where Ami would make her debut in the race world. Both Dom and Letty had been training her, two of the three aggressive drivers on the DT team. Amira didn't dare ask Vince for a lesson, even though Dom advised that she do.

Everyone could see what was clearly going on, everyone except Amira and Vince. They were oblivious to what was really happening between them. Amira would bring Jimmy around, the guy that everyone loved, while Vince sat in the background brooding. Up until recently, when he took to bring home every and any skank that he could find. He would host different hours in his bedroom, that would usually end up with a drunk V by the end of the night.

He thought he was ready to let go of Amira, but seeing her with Jimmy every day brought feelings that he didn't even know he had for her. He was jealous, angry and at the end of the day, he was silently in love with her.

Jimmy snapped a picture of the three girls, complementing each on their looks. Mia had gotten her hands on Amira, getting her into manicures and pedicures, turning her into an official girl, while Letty taught her how to hold her on, both on and off the street. She had picked up Letty's quick tongue, along with Mia's grace.

She was finally a woman.

----

Letty sped up through the desert night and hummed along with the soft rock song that was playing on the radio. Amira fidgeted in her seat, crossing and uncrossing her legs. "He wants to have sex," she blurted out. Letty grunted and flew by Jesse in his car. "And the problem is?"

"He romanced me, Letty. Never stepped out of line. We haven't even butted heads so far. I'm going away to race wars and he's fine with it. He said be careful and have fun. He's perfect but then again he's not," she replied, turning in her seat and facing the other girl. "You just want someone to fight with you and keep you in line. It's a love/hate relationship that you want. Just tough it out with Jimmy. When the summer ends we're going back to Echo Park and you'll probably never see him again."

"I wish that was the case. That way I can fight with him and start some drama to entertain me. He's fun and all but being happy all the time and smiling at me and never cracking a dirty joke with me. And he already made plans to drive up and see me every weekend when school starts," Ami said, her hands flying everywhere.

"He's a good man, Amira. He has a good head on his shoulders. He's not all about cars and skanks. He wants to get an education. Don't get caught up in all the hype. 5 years from now the whole entire team except Mia will be stuck in the garage working overtime to pay the bills. There's no future in racing. There will always be someone out there that is better than you or has more money than you to pay for the better car parts," Letty said.

Amira stared straight ahead and thought about what Letty had just said. Jimmy would be a good investment. "When my father came back from the war, he brought back all that trauma and shit. Sometimes if he drank enough he would pass out, if not, either me or my mom would be the enemy for the night. Shit happens. I thought that I would never get out of that life, until Dom came into my life. I thank God for him everyday because if not, I don't think I would be here right now," Letty whispered, breaking the silence that had taken over the car.

The other girl watched her, tears slipping from the corner of her eyes. She knew Letty never spoke about her family and was honored to have her share something personal like that. "You're right Letty. I should keep my eyes open and push for something. Maybe being with someone that wants a higher education will rub off on me," she replied. Letty laughed and pulled up to the house. "Yeah, he wants to rub off on you alright."

---

Leon flopped down on the couch next to Amira, accidentally spilling beer on her. "Sorry," he mumbled, wiping it off. "It's okay, I needed to cool off anyway but you didn't need to soak me and my book," she said, grinning and brushing the beer that had fallen on her notebook. "What are you writing?" Leon asked, putting his beer down and reaching for the notebook.

Amira froze, never letting anyone read from her notebook. Leon's fingers brushed against hers, sending an electrical charge through her body. Before long, the notebook slipped from her fingers and was now in his hands. She fidgeted with her hands, placing them between her thighs, trying to control her breathing. She didn't know what to expect from Leon. The things she wrote in her notebook no one had ever laid eyes on.

"Deep," Leon whispered, flipping to the front of the book and reading through the pages. Amira glanced over at him and found his eyes staring back at her. She gave him a small smile and received an ear to ear grin from him. She let out a light laugh and soon found themselves in a staring match.

"Am I interrupting something here?" Letty asked, standing at the kitchen doorway. Amira flipped around and glanced back at Letty. She felt like she had been caught doing something dirty. When she turned back around, Leon passed her the book and stood up, heading for the stairs. He glanced back and blew her a kiss, disappearing to the upper level.

Letty giggled and ran over to Amira, jumping down next to her. "Are you sure I wasn't interrupting something?" Amira glared at her and flipped her the finger. "You two seemed cozy and let's not forget the fact that you've turned into a major hottie," Letty continued. "Letty, it's Leon. You know, Leon?"

Letty shrugged and licked her lips. "He watches you a lot. Just be careful. Love is in the air." Amira sighed and stood up from the couch, making her way towards the stairs. "Then I might as well banging Dom too because he watches me like a hawk." Letty watched her as she walked up the stairs and smirked. "Love is in the air," she sang to herself.


	13. CHANNELING

**Chapter 13: **CHANNELING

Amira shifted into park and glanced over at Leon, winking. She had aced every make-shift situation he had thrown at her and she felt confident that she could take down everyone and anyone at Race Wars. Leon closed the notebook in his lap and looked over at her. "Why do you let me read this and not anyone else in the house?" He asked.

She shrugged and turned the car off. They were currently in the middle of the desert, putting the finishing touches on her racing. "You listen, don't judge and you don't laugh. You just drink everything and everyone around you in." Leon nodded and smiled, throwing the notebook in the backseat. "Good answer," he said, climbing out of the car and walking around it.

Ami followed suit, finding him with his head under the hood. He motioned for her to join him, pointing out the key parts of the engine, the ones that would give her the advantage over the competition. As she recited back the key components, he watched her, a slight grin on his face. "What?" She asked, standing up and facing him.

"I've never seen you like this," he replied. "Like what? Dirty, sweaty and stinky?" She asked, motioning to the bright sun over her head. He shook his head. "I meant to say I've never seen you this beautiful," he whispered. Amira looked around and then at her current attire- grease stained cargos and a sweat drenched tank. She wore no makeup and her hair was up in a messy bun. If he found this beautiful, then she was trying to attract the opposite sex all wrong.

She blushed and grinned from ear to ear. "Uh, thanks," she replied, pushing a piece of hair behind her ear. "We should get going, before the team starts to think that I kidnapped you," he said, shutting the hood and getting inside the car. Ami took in a deep breath and shook her head, jumping inside the car.

----

Dom slapped Amira on the back, forcing her to move 2 steps forward. "Easy there, tiger," she mumbled, standing next to Letty. "She's ready, Dom. She has everything down to a tee. Leon took her out this morning and gave the okay. She's car and Leon friendly," Letty said, winking at Ami. Ami glared at her and flipped her the finger, before glancing over to Dom, for the final approval. "Yeah, but she's not aggressive enough, Letty. She starts off good but she doesn't have what it takes to make it to the finish line," he replied, shaking his head.

"So I'll take her out and challenge her. You can ride shotgun and talk her through it," Letty said, walking over to Dom and wrapping an arm around him. "You can't talk me out of this one, Letty. She's gonna have to get V to take her out. I taught her speed, you taught her how to hold her own, Jesse and Leon taught her how to feel her car and now Vince is gonna have to show her how to demolish the rest of them," he said, smiling hard at Amira.

Ami groaned and shook her head. "Fine," she barked, storming off upstairs. "You think we'll be alright," Letty asked, placing a kiss on the top of Dom's head. "Let's hope so. And if not, run for cover."

----

Amira stood in front of the trailer and took in a deep breath. Behind her sunglasses, her eyes held an uncertainty that was running rampant through her body. She was scared. Racing was a serious matter that could bring harm to her and everyone around . She was silently praying that everything went right for her today. In about 6 hours, she would be making her debut, showing the world and the DT team that she was meant to be behind the wheel of a car.

Vince emerged from the trailer, struggling to get into a white tee. He stood by her side, staring at the now rising sun. "You ready?" He asked. She nodded and walked over to the car, jumping in and turning it on. Seconds later, Vince plopped down into the passenger seat, clipping himself in and arranging the seat to his height. He nodded for her to pull out.

---

Amira slammed her hands on the steering wheel and groaned. An hour and a half had gone by and Vince still didn't give her the okay. The sun was beaming on the top of the car, making her feel like she was melting. "I've done everything and anything that will make you say that I'm ready, Vince. Are you sure you're not just doing this to piss me off?" She yelled, frustrated.

Vince glanced at her and then back to the open desert surrounding them. He leaned over and turned the radio off, sending them into complete silence. She flipped over and glared at him. "What are you doing? You know I need my tunes," she said, reaching over to turn the radio back on. He slapped her hand away and pulled off his tee, sitting in the car shirtless.

She froze and watched him, an eyebrow up. "Take your shirt off and give the car some gas," he barked. Amira took in a deep breath and pulled her sweaty shirt off, sitting in the car in a black bra, sunglasses, sneakers and a jean skirt. She pressed her foot on the car and sped off deeper into the desert. "Do you see what your doing?" He asked.

She shook her head and shifted. "I took your music and your shirt. Now your driving like a racer," he said, leaning back into the seat, his arms behind his head. "I don't see the difference," she muttered, shifting again. V nodded and grunted, closing his eyes. "You're not teaching me anything," she yelled.

"I'm teaching you everything you need to know, just by sitting here and being my cute old self," he said, scratching his chest. Amira scoffed and brought the car to a screeching halt. "I wanted you to teach me the aggressiveness that Dom says I need not toy with me," she yelled, shifting into park. Vince sat up and glared at her. "No, you didn't want me to teach you anything. If you did, you would've asked or told me to and not have sent Letty with another one of your peace offerings," he said.

"Well, whatever. I still don't see the difference," she said, fidgeting in her seat. "The difference is that I'm getting on your nerves. You're frustrated and pissed off. All that anger and aggression you have can make you one of the best. Why do you think Dom is the king of the streets? The man takes all his anger and puts it on the blacktop, putting fear in all those challenging him and calmness in him."

"Do you think that I'll ever be that good?" She asked him. "Just feel it. Feel the car and feel yourself. Take all the anger you feel for me and everyone else in the world and channel it into the race. It'll improve your sex life and your home life. The adrenaline rush will wipe you out, leaving no fight in you whatsoever. Making you the docile, homebody I yearn to have at my side."

Ami slammed him on the chest, her eyes in slits. " Yeah, keep yearning," she said, shifting. Vince smoothly reached over, grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. He placed a kiss on forehead, while his hand fondled her breast. "Drive," he barked, settling back down into his seat.

She flipped her head back to its regular position and found herself in tunnel vision. It was true, she was beginning to feel the difference. Before she driving, now she was racing- living in the moment. She shifted once again and pushed the NOS buttons, the car lurching further and going faster.

"You can stop now," he said, slipping back into his shirt and yawning. Amira turned the car around and brought it to a halt, turning it off. She slipped back into her shirt and took in a deep breath. The adrenaline rush had left her breathless, but it was a feeling she welcomed. "You know, he's good for you," V whispered.

She turned and faced him, pushing her sunglasses up to the top of her head. "Yeah, he is. He bores me sometimes, but maybe that's for the best. Maybe it'll keep me out of trouble," she replied. V nodded and cleared his throat. "That's what racing is for. Whenever you get bored, use all that pent up frustration and boredom and kick somebody's ass."

"I miss you, V," Ami whispered, dropping her gaze to the floor. He leaned over and kissed her tenderly, his hand caressing the side of her face. "I miss you, too," he whispered, placing his nose on her cheek, inhaling her scent. He pulled away before things got heavier then what they were. "You can head back to camp now. I proclaim you ready," he said, sitting back in his seat.

She looked over and grinned. "Don't let me race you ever, because I will wipe the ground with you," she chuckled, turning the car on and speeding off towards camp. "Oh please. All I did was teach you one of my many tricks. You have nothing on me," he said, snapping his fingers for emphasis.

Amira laughed out loud and slipped her sunglasses back on to her face, grabbing on to the steering wheel and putting to good use what she had just been taught. Minutes later, she pulled the car up to the campsite they had parked the trailers at. The rest of the team was still inside asleep- races didn't start until around noon.

Vince unclipped his seat belt and opened the door, sticking his feet out. "You not coming?" He asked. She shook her head and smiled at him. "Nope. I got some more channeling to do."


	14. DEVASTATED

**Chapter 14: **DEVASTATED

Dom picked up Ami from the table she was currently dancing on and twirled her around the room. It was the annual Race Wars bash back at the house, celebrating the ass whoopings they had handed out, but this time around the DT team had demolished everyone that was there. Amira had begun her racing career with a bang.

"You deserve this," he said, passing her a Corona bottle and then clicking his with hers. She grinned from ear to ear, liking the new lifestyle Dom had placed her in. Ever since they came back from Race Wars, everyone was looking up to her. She had proven herself to Dominic Toretto, she wasn't just any kid anymore. She had a spot on the DT team.

"Unhand my woman," Jimmy said, appearing behind Dom, slapping him on the back. Dom laughed and lowered her, walking off towards the other side of the room. Ami stumbled over to Jimmy, who had to wrap an arm around her waist to steady her. "Someone's been keeping up with Dom and Leon miserably," he said, walking into the quieter and less crowded kitchen.

"Oh shush and go get us some more beers," she slurred, pushing him towards the fridge. When he came back, he handed her a bottle of water. "You're smashed. I think it's time to wean you off the Coronas," he said, standing in front of her. Ami scrunched her face at the bottle of water and placed it on the counter. She threw her arms around Jimmy and began to sway her hips, her face in his neck, sucking softly.

Jimmy pushed her off slowly, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, but you're a mess right now. I don't really feel like being all close and stuff with you like this. I think maybe you should cut back on the drinking and spend more time with me," he said, placing a kiss on her forehead. She sucked her teeth and glared at him. "Whatever. You're boring anyways so why don't you go home and call me when you grow some balls," she said, pushing past him and walking into the living room.

Ami glanced around the living room for any sort of trouble she could get into and when she glanced into the dark corner she found about 6 feet of it. Vince was currently standing in a corner, bopping his head to the music and nursing a beer bottle. She sauntered over to him, a big smile on her face. "How fucked up are you?" He asked.

"Fucked up enough to ask you to dance," she said, grabbing his arm and dragging him out to the middle of the room where everyone else was dancing. The was packed to the max, making the air hot and stifling. There was a sheen layer of sweat draped over her body, making her barely there clothes stick to her.

The duo pressed up against each other, swaying to the heavy bass shaking through the house. Their eyes connected and it was like static electricity between the two. V broke eye contact, only to stare at her mouth, the shape it made as it breathed heavily. Amira turned around and backed it up on V, making him grip onto her waist and bring her closer to him.

By the time the song ended, the whole room had their eyes on them. Their dancing was full of passion, while the man standing in the other side of the room was full of anger. She cursed under her breath, spotting Jimmy watching them. Ami broke away from Vince and walked over to Jimmy, who in turn shook his head and walked.

---

"Things are a mess, huh?" Ami asked, flopping down into a chair next to Dom. It was currently 9 o'clock, the morning after, and they were the only two up and around. Even Mia was out cold due to the previous night's activities. "Vince told me what happened and it's pretty messed up what you're doing," he replied, pouring her a cup of orange juice.

"What did he say?" Dom shook his head and folded the newspaper he was currently reading. "That I won't share but it's obvious that you still love him and he loves you. All you're doing is toying around with two guys and you can't make your mind up." She stood up from the table and walked over to the fridge, rummaging around for anything she could microwave easily. "I like them both. Vince is my past. He's something I can't let go of and somebody I'm very loyal to. Jimmy seems to be my future right now and I may have to slow down for him a bit but he's a good person to be around," she said, pulling out some frozen waffles.

Dom stood up and stretched his body out. He shrugged his shoulders and made his way towards the door. He stopped before exiting and turned around to face her. "Well what about the right now? What about your present? If you're miserable right now there's no point relieving the past while focusing on the future." Amira stared after Dom and smiled. "Wise old fucker," she whispered.

---

Jesse held up a loaf of bread and a bottle of ketchup. "I think we're done," he stated, throwing the items into the shopping cart. Amira scoffed and nudged Letty, passing Jesse Mia's shopping list. Jesse groaned, grabbing on to his beanie and cursing. "Why couldn't Mia come and do her own damn shopping?" He asked, jumping inside the cart and passing Letty the list.

Amira pushed the shopping cart down the aisle, point things out for Letty to grab. "Stupid time of the month," Letty muttered, throwing a bag of marshmallows at Jess. "It beats being inside the house with nothing to do," Ami said, turning into the next aisle. Letty groaned in disgust and shook her head. She threw the list in the cart and backed up. "I'm sorry. I can't be with miss perky all day and do the damn shopping. I'll be in the car waiting," she said, walking towards the exit.

"And then there were two," Jesse said, picking up the list and reading off of it. "I can't wait for the summer to be over. We get to go back to work with Mr. Toretto and get our hands on the cars," he gushed. Ami laughed and grabbed some more items. "I want school to start. I'm excited about being busy all day long," she replied.

"Wouldn't that mean you would have to go back home and ya know?" He asked, looking up at her with a worried look. "Yeah, but I can only pray everything works out, ya know? Dom said I can move in and go to work officially at the garage. So I'm thinking this is my last summer to be acting up and to be acting like a little kid. I think I can be mature enough to get a certain level of peace in my life. I'm tired of all the drama and mayhem that I usually come with."

Jesse climbed out of the cart and gave her a big hug, patting her on the head. "We both were dealt bad cards in life, but we'll make it. I have Leon and the rest of you guys and you have me and the rest of them. Times might be rough in the house but we always have each other's back no matter what," he said. Amira gripped tight on Jesse, knowing she had a friend for life.

---

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Amira slid out from underneath the car she was working on and came face to face with Jimmy. "Um… Letty told me I could find you here," he mumbled, kneeling down to her level. She sat up, dropping the wrench she had in her hand and crossing her arms over her chest. "I come in peace," he said, holding up his hands.

"So how you been?" She asked, dropping her arms along with her guard. "Good, just been doing a lot of thinking. Can we talk?" He asked, sitting down at her side. Ami nodded and wiped her hands on a rag. "I'm not trying to say I don't like you the way you are, but sometimes you get a little crazy and headstrong. When I first met you I liked that, but the other night you pushed it to extremes. I know you and Vince had a thing, but it's my time now. I know I'm not him and I'm not trying to be him. I know I'm not crazy, as fun, or as scary as Vince is, but I think that's one of the things you liked about me when we first met. I can only hope that I don't bore you enough again that you have to run into his arms," he said.

Amira through her arms around Jimmy's neck and squeezed him tight. "I'm sorry for what I said the other night. I admit it, my drinking is getting out of control. I made a total fool of myself. I want us to get back on track again and to do that I'm gonna need to change some things. Bad habits are hard to break, but I know I can get rid of them if I have you by my side," she whispered, kissing him.

---

Vince turned away from the kitchen window, cringing at the sight he had just seen. Amira and Jimmy were currently making up and making out, right in front of him. Half of him wanted to run out there and beat the crap out of him, but the other half of him made him turn around and face his newest conquest, Pam. He winked at her, throwing an arm around her neck and then proceeded to try to suck her face off.

---

Jimmy leaned on Leon's car and continued their in depth discussion on police avoidance tactics. He broke concentration when he spotted Amira walking across the warehouse floor to checkout another racer who was going up against Dom tonight. "You and her are pretty serious, huh?" Leon asked, smirking. "Does she talk about our relationship to you guys?" Jimmy asked, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pack of gum.

"Not to the guys, but Letty, Mia and her probably have a shrine to you somewhere," Leon replied, declining some gum Jimmy had offered. Jimmy shrugged and popped a piece of gum into his mouth, never taking his eyes off of Amira. "I think I want to have sex with her," he muttered. "Why do you say it like that?" Leon asked, reaching inside his car for the scanner. Jimmy turned and stared intently at Leon.

"Oh boy, you're a virgin?" Leon asked, a small grin on his face. Jimmy nodded and his eyes found the floor. Leon slapped him on the back and laughed. "It's cool. Everyone starts of as a virgin whether they want to or not. Just get some protection and let her do the rest. It's a piece of cake," Le said, trying to encourage the youngster.

---

Leon walked over to V, slapping him on the back. Vince unwrapped himself from Sharon, the flavor of tonight, and turned around to face his friend. "You won't believe what I just found out," Le said, walking off from the crowd with his friend in tow. V rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "Jimmy wants to bone Ami but he's a virgin, so he started asking me all these questions about what she would like and what not," he said.

Vince's arms dropped to his side and he stared off into the sky. He felt like his body had just deflated and it was weighing him down. Leon looked at the sad look in his friends teary eyes and cursed at himself for being such a fucking gossip hound. "Dawg, I'm sorry," he said, but it was in vain.

V flipped him the finger and walked off through a dark alleyway, his shoulders hunched over and his head hung low. Leon yelled after him, but the noise from the rowdy racers drowned him out. Vince was completely devastated.


	15. TRUTH IS

**Chapter 15: **Truth Is

Amira threw the wrench on the ground, groaning in frustration. Dom walked by and picked it up, waving it at her. "Need a manly hand?" He asked, sarcastically, reaching inside the car's front and loosening the bolt she was currently struggling with. She smiled back sarcastically, yanking the wrench from his hands and throwing it back on the ground. "I'm staging a boycott," she declared, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the car.

"Oh boy," Letty said, from across the room. Amira flipped around and gave her the finger, turning back around and facing Dom. "And why may I ask?" He said, imitating her stance. "Well for starters you have me doing oil changes and slapping on decals. Can't I do something else? Like prepping for races, install a NOS system and any of the other 100s of things I don't do around here," she complained.

Dom nodded and reached into his pocket, pulling out a set of keys. He passed them to her, a slick smile on his face. "It's out back. You better get started if you want to be ready in time for the next race," he said. She reached up and grabbed the keys from his hands. She smiled at him, not believing her ears. "You mean I got my own car?" She asked. Dom nodded once again and leaned down to pick up the wrench to finish the job.

When he stood up to his full height, Amira jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She laughed to herself, placing a kiss on his forehead and running out back.

---

Amira stepped inside her bedroom, clad in a towel. Her hair was up and her body was wet. She was fresh out of the shower and was looking for some attention. She shut the bedroom door quietly behind her, not wanting to alert anyone that they were upstairs. She found Jimmy sitting on her bed, facing away from her. He was hunched over and ignored her silent cries of attention. "Jimmy," she whispered seductively, unwrapping the towel and letting it fall to the floor.

Jimmy stood up from the bed slowly and turned to face her. In his hands he held an open book. He scanned through it furiously, his fingers grasping the pages as he turned them. "It's a feeling worse than anything else that I have been put through. I don't even like him but I force myself to spend night and day with him, in hopes that someday I'll wake up to the fact that he is the man of my dreams. He treats me right, but at the end of the day I'm still in love with Vince. God, please make that feeling at the bottom of my stomach that I have every time I see him go away," he read.

Jimmy threw the book on the floor, his hands tugging his hair. He grimaced like as if he was in pain. Amira walked over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders, trying to calm him down. "You've lied all this time to me. You told me you loved me. Why would you do this to me, to us?" He yelled, pulling away from her. "It's complicated. Please lets just discuss it," she whispered.

"Fuck you! You're a liar. You're a fucking liar. Every word that has come out of your mouth has been a lie. This has meant nothing to you," he yelled, shoving her to the side and walking towards the door. He yanked open the door, but Amira blocked his exit. "Get the fuck out of my way, you cold hearted whore!" He yelled, spit flying out of his mouth. Amira shook her head and stood her ground.

"I was confused when I wrote that. Nothing except you and me matters right now," she pleaded, but it was in vain. Jimmy shoved her aside, sending her flying into the door frame. She slid to the floor, as he made his way towards the stairs. "When you're done with that nobody, look me up in the phonebook." That night Jimmy walked out of her life forever, leaving her once again all alone.

---

Amira flopped down onto the couch, finding herself engrossed in the soap opera rerun that was currently playing on the television. She clutched the big bowl full of popcorn to her chest and dove in, shoveling the popcorn into her mouth. Within the last week she had gained about 5 pounds. She would spend every night on the couch, stuffing her face and wishing that the world would swallow her whole.

Leon came jogging down the stairs, slipping into a shirt. As he walked by the couch into the kitchen, he did a double take. He walked in reverse towards her, finding her sitting on the couch in tears. "Ami?" He asked, sitting by her side and wrapping an arm around her. "It's just that he really loves her and she had to have that abortion," she bawled, pointing to the television.

Leon groaned and unwrapped himself from her, yanking the remote control from her hand and turning the television off. "Jesus, Amira. You've been sitting around the house in sweats all week long. Come on, you need to get it together," he said, grabbing her arm and making her stand up. She glared at him, refusing to let go of the bowl of popcorn. "Put it down," he stated, firmly, yanking it from her hand.

He pushed her towards the stairs and pointed up them. "Shower and change. Letty, Jesse and me are heading into town for some fun. You're coming with," he barked. Ami groaned and reluctantly made her way up the stairs.

---

Vince groaned, sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes. He glanced over to the clock on the nightstand that blinked back 3:30 AM and then over to the empty spot next to him. He climbed out of bed, scratched his stomach as he made his way towards the stairs. He stopped off at the fridge, grabbing a Corona bottle and chugging half of it down before grabbing a pair of work gloves off the kitchen table and making his way out back to the garage. He figured that if he wasn't going to sleep, he might as well put in some wrench time.

It was the usual thing now a days for him. When he couldn't sleep, he would creep out silently to the makeshift garage in back of the house and work on the cars, until he was tired. He would then creep back in, shower, sleep for about 4 hours and then get back up. It was how he dealt.

Vince made his way towards the garage, humming a soft rock song to himself. As he walked closer to the garage's entrance he saw a sliver of light coming out from underneath. He froze, glancing around and proceeded to walk closer to the entrance, hearing strange noises from inside. As he made his way closer and closer, the strange noises became moans and whispers.

He cocked his head to the side, calculating who could possibly be in the garage. Vince slid his hand around the garage door handle, pulling on it gently. The door opened quietly, shining the moonlight not only on the truth but on the passionate lovers that were currently making love on top of a tarp covered car.

Leon and Amira.


	16. INNOCENCE

**Chapter 16: **Innocence

Amira blushed, brushing back a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She grabbed the wrench Leon passed her and turned back to the car she was working on. Not before long, she felt a sharp tap on her shoulder. She turned around again, a slick smile on her face, expecting Leon. Instead, she found Mia's right hook.

She fell like a ton of bricks, her head banging hard against the cement floor. Ami groaned as Letty ran to her side and helped her up. "What the fuck?" She yelled. "That's for Vince, you manipulative bitch! And this is for Leon and every other asshole who ever crossed your path," Mia yelled, slapping her across the face.

Amira ate the slap and lunged at her, shoving her to the ground. She climbed on top of the smaller girl and began to pummel her. Dom ran towards them, pushing Amira off of Mia, separating the two girls. He glared back and forth between the two of them, a confused look on his face. Mia had never been one to use violence to get a point across and Amira, well Amira was her old self- always in trouble.

"May I know what this is about?" He asked, letting go of both of them. Amira crossed her arms over her chest and glared straight at Mia. "Dom she's toying with everyone in this house. She shouldn't be allowed to stay with us anymore. Look at what she's doing to Vince and Leon," Mia said, standing by his side.

Dom shook his head and stepped away from her. "That is none of your business. Whatever her and Leon or Vince or whoever are doing is their business. As for the fighting, it stops now and if it ever happens again you'll both be dealing with me," he barked, turning around and heading back to the house.

Mia scoffed and rolled her eyes. "This Friday is the last race before we head back to the house. I hope to never have to lay eyes on you again after that, and if so, I'll drop you wherever I see you," she snarled. Amira stepped towards her and chuckled. "Just because Dom let you out of the playpen for a few doesn't mean you can challenge me, missy. If you want to go another round let me know, if not I suggest you stop running your mouth and get back to the books," she replied.

Mia huffed and puffed, turning around and walking off towards the house. Amira glanced around her and found Letty, Leon and Vince staring at her. "WHAT?!" She yelled, stomping out of the garage.

---

Vince finished off the guitar solo he was strumming and chugged what was left of his beer bottle. Mia slid up to his side and smiled at him. He chuckled and threw an arm around her, placing the guitar on the floor. The party was in full swing and out of everyone in the room Mia had chosen Vince to grace with her conversation. "How you feeling?" She asked him.

V shrugged and lifted up his bottle. "About 5 or 6 of these ago I was doing mighty fine," he slurred, letting a burp out at the end of his sentence. Mia chuckled and ran a hand up and down his arm. "Do you want to go upstairs with me?" She whispered, not wanting anyone else to here. Vince turned around and faced her, an eyebrow cocked. "Are you serious?" He laughed.

Mia retracted her arm from him and sat back in her seat. "Sorry, Mia. You're not woman enough for me. You're just a girl," he said, standing up and walking away, leaving her staring after him, dumbfounded.

---

"Hey, what's the matter?" Dom asked, grabbing a plate from the cabinet. Mia shook her head, pushing back hair behind her ears, her gaze landing on Vince. He glanced back at her, a confused look on his face. "What did I do?" He asked, yawning. Mia jumped up and slammed her hands on the table, before storming out of the kitchen. Dom gazed after her, shaking his head.

"What was that all about?" Dom asked, sitting down at the table. Vince shrugged and gulped down his cup of coffee. Amira walked into the kitchen, gleefully. She plopped down into a chair next to Dom and smiled at him, reaching for his plate to snatch a waffle off of it. Dom smacked her hand away and chuckled.

"Why are you so happy and why is Mia pissed off?" He asked. Amira shrugged, nodding to Vince and reaching for his cup of coffee. "Well we finally ship off back to the neighborhood after dinner tonight and I really don't give a flying fuck why Mia is pissed off," she replied. Dom shook his head and stood up from the table. "I'll get to the bottom of this," he declared, exiting the kitchen in search of his baby sister.

With Dom's exit, silence took over the silent house. Vince cleared his throat, an uneasiness taking over him. "You excited to get back to the garage and all that other crap like school?" He murmured, pushing his plate full of waffles towards her. Amira grinned and began to dig into the waffles. "Yeah. I need some time alone, you know? Being cooped up in the house for the summer was fun at first but there's been so much drama lately, I just need a break."

"Well I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other at the garage and at the house if you decide to take Dom's offer," he said. She shrugged, tilting her head to the side. "Ummm…. We'll see how that goes. I want to take it easy. The only people who aren't trying to kill me in this family are Dom, Letty and Jesse- until now," she replied. V scoffed and reached across the table, placing a hand over hers.

Amira froze and glanced at him, a nervous look in her eyes. "I just want you to know that everything is okay between you and me. I know about everything. You, Jimmy, Leon. Everything. I have no harsh feelings towards you or them. It was time we went our separate ways. I'm just mad it took us this long and this amount of bullshit," he said.

She jumped up and ran around the table, engulfing him in a hug. "I love you, V," she yelled, rocking them back and forth. Vince's heart sunk silently, because he understood that the love she was feeling towards him was for once innocent. She loved him like the brother he was and is, like the best friends they had always been.

Ami placed a kiss on his forehead and stared into this blue eyes. "Thanks. You don't know how good hearing that makes me feel, Vincent," she whispered, placing her head on his shoulders. Vince wrapped his arms around her, squeezing tightly. For the first time ever, his hugs were innocent also.

Wonder how long that will last?


	17. One and Only

**Chapter 17**: One and Only

**A/N**: Present!

As Amira stepped inside the house, she felt like as if the summer never ended. The house still had that certain smell to it. She saw the summer replaying in her head and she took in the dust covered floors and the worn furniture. She felt grief for the friendship Mia and her had. That summer changed everything for them. They were no longer best friends and ever since then everyone compared her to Mia. Meanwhile she celebrated the renewed and stronger relationship the summer created between Vince and her after the dust settled.

After a quick round of the house she found no one. She stood in the middle of the living room, glancing around for any sign that Dom was or had been there. She looked at the floor intensely, trying to figure out if the footprints that were in the dust were hers or Dom's. She desperately needed any tell-tale clues of his whereabouts.

She sighed softly, giving up. The summer house was where she thought he would be hiding out. Amira placed the safety on her gun and placed it in her waistband. She made her way to the front door, giving the house the last once over.

She shut the door behind her and began to walk to her car. As she did she hummed a soft rock song, anything to take away the eerie silence the desert held. "Are you lost?" A deep baritone voice said, startling her. With quickness she didn't even know she had, she pulled the gun from her waistband and took her shooting stance. She watched as a tall hooded figure stepped out from around her car, hands up.

"Dom?" She asked, lowering her gun but still keeping it trained on him. The figure pulled of his hood and stepped towards her, a big grin on his face. "The one and only," he replied, opening his arms for a hug. Amira stepped into his embrace, hugging his fiercely. She felt that upon finding out that he was alive she had completed her mission. Now all she had to do was drag him down to Mexico and go back to her regularly schedules life.

"You have to come back. The team is a mess without you right now," she said, her head placed in the crook of his neck. Dom shook his head and kept his grasp on her. "I can't. The police are looking for me. I have to stay hidden until this all blows over," he said. Amira pushed him off of her and glared at him. "You can't just let them think you're dead. You have to go back and support the family that supported you while you came up with this cracked out idea of robbing trucks, Dom. Everything is upside-down in their worlds and they need you to make shit right."

Dom took a step back and ran his hands over his head. "How do I look at them and not feel like blowing my brains out every time I see that look of fear in there eyes? They must be scared of me. I mean do you know how many fucked up things I've done in my life? My parents must be rolling over in their graves right now," he said.

Amira grabbed his hand and wrapped it around hers. "Please, Dom. Don't walk away from this. This can make the difference for you. If you want redemption, go back and make things right, but don't run away from them. It will show them that you don't care how they are or what happens to them. Just get in the car with me and let's take a drive down to see them. Talk it out with them and if not I'll drive you up here myself. Deal?"

He glanced at her, trying to read her eyes and he got the answer he was looking for- sincerity. Dom nodded and motioned to the car. "Who's the broad?" He asked, making his way towards the passenger side. "Depends who you ask. According to V, that's your niece and according to me, that's my daughter." Dom nodded at her response and cocked an eyebrow at her, deciding to leave it at that.

--

Amira sighed, shifting into park and glancing over to Dom, who nervously ran a hand over the top of his head. He glanced over to the house and cleared his throat. He knew his time was up. He would have to face them sooner or later. He glanced over at Amira, placing his hand over hers on the gearshift. "I got your back, Dom. The worse that can happen is that Mia starts crying, Vince punches you, Leon stops talking to you, and Letty won't put out. It's manageable," she reassured him, unlocking the car doors.

"If you grab the sleeping child you can use her as a shield," she joked. Amira reached into the back seat and picked her up, shifting the child's weight on to her body. Dom sighed and walked around the car, leaning on the side of it. She walked over to him and leaned next to him, both of them staring up at the house in front of them. "So what do you think will happen now?" He asked, wringing his hands together.

She shrugged and yawned. "My mission was to bring you back. Now I figured I can crawl into bed and your homecoming will take the heat off of me. So good luck and good night," she said, placing a kiss on his cheek and pushing him towards the house. He shook his head softly, as she slowly opened the front door, revealing his past, present and future at once.

Amira nodded to the gang of hurting family members that were currently taking refuge in the living room and made her way towards her room, where she too would take refuge from the fall out that was about to happen. She didn't bother to look back at Dom, he was strong and could take care of himself. After all he had lead and taken care of his family for years. He was the team.

--

Dom stepped into the house, his footsteps echoing off the walls. He felt his body getting heavier and at the bottom of his stomach he had the sudden urge to flee. It was the only feeling that he could produce lately. He was numb to everything else except to the damning feeling that told him to run. He watched as Amira made her quiet escape, slipping out without anyone noticing her. She was always good at that. She too was fleeing. If only he could too.

He cleared his throat and looked around the room at all the wide-eyed people staring at him. He knew he had done irreversible damage to his family and he felt like he behind enemy lines. He thought about Jesse, who was currently in the hospital. He didn't know if his little brother was alright, but he imagined that if he were here, he would break the cold silence in the room and engulf him in a hug. At the thought of that, he choked, tears springing to his eyes and a sob escaping from his mouth.

Arms wrapped around him and sobs filled the room. He was no longer numb. He was home. The only person missing was his little brother and if they could get over this hump then that too would work out.

--

Vince slipped into Amira's room and sat down on the edge of the bed. He placed a hand on her lower back and nudged her awake. She jumped up in bed and let out a deep breath of relief upon seeing Vince's tear stricken face. His face was soft and full of sadness, his nose was red and dripping. She was silently glad that Dom came back. She knew it would cause a lot of pain but she also knew that bringing him back was the right thing- it would heal a lot of open wounds with in the family.

"I want a paternity test," he whispered, his voice choked. Amira's heart jumped and she shook her head. "I will not put her through this. It's not necessary," she whispered, stretching back out and closing her eyes. The conversation on her end was over. Vince stood up and stared down at her. "You don't have a choice in this. Tomorrow I'm going down to the center and I'll have her hairbrush tested against mine. End of story," he said and exited the room. She stared after him, tears welling up. She didn't know how long she lay there but by the time she decided to get up and follow him, her chest was heavy.

She walked down stairs and found the entire team sitting around the kitchen table, having a couple of beers. "I need to talk to you now," she said, pointing towards the living room. Vince shook his head and took a sip of his drink. "What I said wasn't open for discussion. It's happening whether you like it or not," he replied, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest.

Amira took in a deep breath and tried to calm herself. She was about to flip out and lose her cool. She felt like her world was coming down and there was nothing to stop the tears that were spilling out of her eyes. She watched as the team stared her and she could only imagine what she looked like- hair all over, face all red and wet and her chest heaving. She slammed her fist into the wall and glared at V.

"She is my daughter. I have not asked you to be a father at all. Last time I checked, I was doing all of you a favor. Therefore, we will not be getting a DNA test. She doesn't need or miss you. She doesn't even know you. I provide and give her everything you need so as of tomorrow we will be out of your life. She is of no concern to you," she snarled, making a stand.

No one at the table made an effort to leave the room or comfort her. They were looking for a show, something to entertain all of them and she was willing to give one to them if necessary. Vince stood up and glanced around the table. "Do you realize the shit I've been through lately? I've almost died and lost my family. Do you think that if there's a slight chance that she's my daughter I'm going to let you walk out of my life forever? If she's mine you stay, if she's not then you can leave ASAP. Either way, there's a paternity test in the works," he said.

She crossed the room and walked up to him. Ami slammed him into the wall and slapped him with all the force she could muster. "Even if she does turn out to be yours, you know you are not capable of being someone in her life that even remotely attempts to resemble something like a father figure. You're a loser, Vince. You have nothing to offer her and she wants nothing to do with you. She is the spitting image of you. She has the quick temper, the savage appetite, the witty remarks and the looks. There is no doubt in my mind that she is yours and if you attempt to stop me from leaving then I'll have no choice but to give you and your goons up to the police. And trust me, I won't think twice when it comes to it."

They stood toe to toe and glared at each other, both breathing heavily. "Everyone out!" Vince barked and the team scrambled to give them privacy. As the last member existed the room, V reached over and grabbed Ami by the hair, placing the other hand over her mouth. He bent her over the kitchen counter and put his face in the crook of her neck. She tried to scream but it was muffled by his hands. He stood up and loosened the grip on her hair but still kept her mouth covered.

"After everything we've been through, you're going to deny me my daughter. I know I'm not the best candidate out there but I rather she grow up with someone there that cares for her. And with everything that I've been through recently and having you come back into my life, if you leave and take her without finding out the truth- it will break me. I don't know what I'll do but it won't pretty. I love you, Amira. Please don't leave me. Please don't," he pleaded, removing the hand from her mouth.

Amira watched as his eyes teared and he struggled to control his emotions. He always knew how to get her. Show a little emotion and she was putty in his hands. And that's how he wanted the night to play out. He wanted to make believe that everything was fine. That him and Amira were perfectly married with the perfect daughter. It was all in his mind and he wanted to live it, if only for the night.

"If you take the paternity test and she's not yours, it'll kill me, Vince. I don't want a paternity test because all these years I felt like I had a part of you with me. I felt like you had never left me. It was how I got by day to day. Please don't take that away from me," she said, pushing him off and making her way towards the door.

He grabbed her arm, this time with a tender touch. "I'm here now. No need to replace me with her. I'm here and still in love with you," he whispered, bringing her towards him. Her body melted into his and he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead, easing all of her worries and inner pains. "Fine. You can have the paternity test."


	18. FREE

**A/N: **I know it's been a while but I'm steadily finishing up old projects and getting started on new ones. As a reminder- the next couple of chapters will be in the past before TFATF movie. Please keep in mind that during this time Mia, Letty and Amira are 17, Dom, Vince, and Leon are 19 and Jesse is 18. I thought this would be a great piece of info for the coming chapters just in case you get a little lost. The timeline that I am creating is the summer before Mr. Toretto's death and Dom's incarceration. You should also be aware that the chapters that focus on the past will have CAPITALIZED titles to symbolize the difference between past and present. **ENJOY!**

_-Past-_

Back to Echo Park.

Ami climbed out of Letty's car with her duffel bag in tow. She waved at the team as she disappeared down the road, going home. Her stomach began to hurt as she got closer and closer to the hell she called home. But it was time. She couldn't fathom sitting around the house and dealing with all the tension. Dealing with all the stares.

-

Vince stuck his head through her bedroom window and glanced inside the dark room. "Amira?" He whispered, peering through the dark. He was officially worried. She had missed the races. She hadn't been at school or the garage or the store. Mia and Letty called. She wouldn't return their phone calls. He had no other choice other than to find her himself and make sure she was still alive.

"What are you doing here?" A small voice whispered. He finished climbing through the window and walked over to her nightstand, turning the small lamp on. V found Ami curled up in a ball in the corner of her bed, tears streaming down her face. His heart skipped a beat as he saw her face- or what was left of it. "Why didn't you call me? Why didn't you tell me so I can kill the bastard?" He whispered, pushing back the hair on her face.

She sat up and faced him, lifting her hand and showing him a gun. "I'm gonna kill him, V," she whispered, her hand shaking as she wrapped her fingers around it. He shook his head as he heard footsteps approaching her door. "Who are you talking to?" A deep, male voice asked, kicking open her door.

Vince jumped up, grabbing the gun from Ami and firing two shots into her father's chest. She screamed as the thud rang out throughout the house and V stood frozen. He felt like his ears were gonna explode. He felt like all the years of pent up frustration about his father beating his mom, Ami's dad beating her had come to an explosive end.

He felt Ami pushing him towards the window, telling him to disappear. Vince stared at her wide eyed as he climbed out of the window and onto the tree. He looked back through the window and saw her wiping his fingerprints off the gun and picking up the phone. His body shook as he climbed down the tree and ran away from the house.

-

Amira sat at the courthouse and a sigh of relief left her lips as the judge gave her verdict. She was innocent. Self defense. For a minute there, she felt that her life was slipping away from her hands as she contemplated what a guilty verdict would've meant. Mr. Torretto appeared out of nowhere and wrapped his strong arms around her, as tears streamed down her face. "Come on, kiddo. Let's go home," he said, picking her up in a hug and then heading towards the door.

Mr. Toretto had petitioned to be her guardian for the next 6 months, until she turned 18. She finally took Dom up on the offer of moving in and holding down a job at the garage. While she sat in the country prison, during her trial, they had fixed up the room next to Vince's in the basement and moved her in. Mia had a field day painting and decorating the new housemates' room, while irritating V with questions about what she would and wouldn't like.

Ami smiled from ear to ear as the sunlight hit her face and the wind whipped back the hair from her face. She was finally free and she felt in too. No longer did she have cuffs on her hands. Her father's deadly stare digging into the back of her head. She did however, miss him. Miss her V.

-

She threw her arm around Mia and shrieked, loving every inch of her new room. Letty and Dom rolled their eyes and left the room, as soon as they had arrived. Drooling over furniture was definitely not their idea of fun. "How did you know my favorite everything?" Ami asked, running her hands over the freshly painted light green walls and the dark wood furniture. Mia giggled and threw an arm around her. "V. He helped me pick out everything. He picked up extra shifts at the garage and even got a job at some nightclub as a bouncer to pay for all of this. He gets me and Letty in when Dom isn't looking," Mia informed her.

"Dad said mandatory dinner in 30. Which means you and Letty have to go set up or heads will roll. Let Ami finish drooling on her own," Dom said, sticking his head in the doorway and pointing at Mia. Mia groaned and headed towards the door. "Welcome home, Ami," Mia said, before turning and running up the basement stairs.

Ami dropped on to the bed and moaned. Ten times better than the prison cot she had been sleeping on. She closed her eyes and began to drift off, when she felt the bed squeak and protest against extra weight. She didn't bother opening her eyes. She knew his scent anywhere.

Vince took her hand in his and they laid there. In silence.

The rest was history.


	19. IT'S OFFICIAL

_-Past-_

Ami emerged from the house, a huge smile on her face as Vince chased her around the yard. They ended up at the picnic table, each taking their respective seats. "I hope that when I'm gone you two can stick to the rules," Mr. Toretto said, placing a plate piled high of his famous grilled chicken. The couple looked at each other and rolled their eyes. "No sex. No drinking. No partying. No racing. No leaving Mia alone," they stated in unison. It was the house rules. They all had to recite and swear to them every time Mr. T went away for a race and didn't take them with. This time around Dom and Letty would be going with him, leaving V, Ami and Mia at home.

"Don't worry, Daddy. I'll keep a close eye on those two," Mia said, placing a kiss on her father's forehead and taking her seat. Letty scoffed, knowing that if V and Ami were having any sort of sex Mia would be the last one to ever come between those two. "So what do you guys have planned for Friday night? We'll be back most likely Saturday morning, so you only need to keep my angel busy for a night," Mr. T said, serving every one a piece of chicken.

"We were thinking a movie and then maybe some bowling," Ami said, passing Vince the mashed potatoes. Mia shrieked in excitement, even though she knew it was all a lie. They had been planning this for months. There was a bon fire at the beach and they had already RSVP'd to it. Mia would finally get to go out with some boy from her school. And V and Ami would finally have some much needed alone time.

--

It was Friday afternoon and the evil trio waved Dom, Letty and Mr. T off. When they were out of sight, they all looked at each other and grinned. V picked up Ami and threw her over his shoulder, following Mia into the house. "I'm gonna go shave my legs," Mia stated, heading for the stairs. Vince froze and threw Ami onto the couch and headed for the stairs. "What the hell do you need to shave your legs for?" He yelled up them.

Mia appeared at the top of the stairs and rolled her eyes. "V, stubble may look good on you, but I'm sure if you were dating a girl and discovered she had more stubble than you, you'd make a bee line for the nearest exit," she stated. V pointed at her and shook his head. "Don't shave too high, cause if homie's hands roam further up than your knees, I'll have some new decorations on the front lawn. His tombstone," he said.

Mia groaned and her response was running into the bathroom and slamming it shut. Ami laughed as Vince glared up the stairs. "God, you need to stop being so overprotective. Someone needs to fuck her up tight ass loose," she said, standing up from the couch. He turned around and glared at her. "Not on my watch. If Dom finds out that I'm letting Mia run around with some guy behind his back, it'll be my tombstone out on the front lawn," he said, heading for the stairs.

Ami followed him into his room, where he shed his shirt. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her face into his back. "You need to go shower. You need to go shave," he said, pulling away from her and looking at her legs. He scrunched up his face and shook his head. "Fuck you. It's not like I'm getting any ass, anyways. Who do I need to shave for since you don't want to fuck me in Mr. T's house," she said, pulling her shirt off also.

V stared at her and growled. "Not fair. All he asked was that we didn't screw in his house. He was cool with us going out and everything. Just not fucking," he said, throwing a towel her way. She grabbed it and headed towards the door, before turning around and glaring at him. "Any other girl would think that there's something else to you not having sex with her, but considering you're fucking me one way or another tonight, I'll let it slide," she said, before making her exit and disappearing into the bathroom.

He stared after her, confused at her statement.

--

V groaned as he glanced at his clock. He had been waiting for over twenty minutes for the girls to emerge from their rooms and still nothing. He heard footsteps approaching and sighed as he realized that Mia was coming down the stairs. His sigh of relief quickly became a sigh of frustration as he saw what she was wearing.

Mia stepped before him clad in dress shorts so low and short that he couldn't help but drink in her long, tanned legs. Her shirt was a light pink tube top that stopped an inch above her navel and matched the sandals at her feet. "No way in hell. Go up stairs and put some clothes on," he barked, turning her around and shoving her towards the stairs. "Oh come on, V. It can't be that bad," Ami purred, making her presence known.

They turned around and faced her- Mia wide eyed and V breathless. Ami was dressed in a very short white tunic dress that was adorned with gold beads. Her hair was up in a ponytail and her face was bronzed. "Tell me your wearing something underneath that?" V said, pointing at her. "Wouldn't you like to know," Ami crooned, grabbing Mia by the hand and heading for the door.

--

Vince watched with hawk eyes as Mia walked up and down the beach holding some guy's hand. They laughed and chatted about things he was not interested in, he only cared that the didn't touch her. Ami grabbed Vince's jaw and turned his face towards her. "You should've told me to wait in the car if you were gonna spend all night watching them," she said, a sad look on her face.

They were currently sitting in the sand, away from the rest of the party. "Sorry, I just can't let something bad happen to her. Dom and Mr. T would kill me," he said, removing her hand from his jaw and focusing back on Mia and her date. Amira sighed and stood up, picking up her sandals and beginning to walk away. "Where you going?" He asked, reaching out to stop her.

"Anywhere but here, V," she spat out, walking away from him. He glanced between Ami and Mia and sighed, standing up from the sand and chasing Ami down. She was speed walking towards the dark parking lot, cursing under her breath. She stopped when she reached the car, turning around and glaring at him. "You know. I shaved my legs. I even did my makeup. It took me an entire paycheck to afford this outfit. I cleaned my room and I even plotted this entire weekend out so that we could spend some alone time," she said.

And that's when V saw him, walking down the beach. Jimmy. His blood boiled as he watched him say hi to a couple of people and then hug Mia. Vince reached into his pocket and pulled out his car keys, unlocking the car. "Get in the car," he barked, opening the back passenger door and pushing her in. He climbed in with her and slammed the door shut.

Ami watched as he began to pull his pants down. "Are you kidding me? Gonna give me a two minute fuck and then run back to chaperon their date?" She spat out, moving away from him. Within seconds, V grabbed her and climbed on top of her, reaching for her panties. He pulled them down and crept between her thighs, his fingers sliding into her moist center. With his other hand, he grabbed the back of her head and closed the distance between them.

She moaned and kissed him, smashing their lips together. "This is what you wanted. This is what you've been after, huh?" He whispered into her ear, as he pulled his fingers out of her and entered her. Ami could've sworn he sounded like a caveman as he grunted and thrusted inside of her. She wasn't even enjoying it. Just lying there and taking it. As usual.

A couple of minutes later, he exploded inside of her. She pushed him away and put her panties back on, a look of disgust on her face. "Was it everything you've been wetting your panties over?" He said, pulling his pants back on. Ami pulled her fist back and punched him in the face. She proceeded to spit on him and dig her nails into his throat. "My daddy fucked me better than you," she spat out, before climbing out of the car.

Vince shook it off and climbed out of the car, finding her sitting on his hood. "What did you expect? Roses. A hotel room. Some fucking romance?" He said, walking up to her and crossing his arms over his chest. "Cause that's not me and you know it. You wanted to fuck. I fucked you. End of story."

Ami scoffed and slid off the hood. "The least you could've done was use a condom, you asshole," she said, walking around the car and climbing into the front passenger side.

--

Mia sat in the backseat and stared out the window, wondering what the hell happened tonight. Vince's face was bruised. Ami was in the front seat seething with rage and she was as happy as she could be. Her date had gone amazing and she couldn't wait to tell Letty all about it.

As they entered the house, she watched as Ami made a bee line for the basement and as Vince stared after her, a sad look on his face. Mia walked up to him and place a hand on his shoulder. "Whatever you did, just go down there and apologize. We all know what happens. You fuck up. You fight. You become closer. Just go and talk to her, she'll fix it," she said, pushing him towards the door.

V shook his head and stepped away from her. "It's official. There's nothing I can do to fix this," he said, heading for the backyard. She stared after him, her face scrunched up. She sighed as she made her way into the basement and found Ami rolled up in bed, still clothed. "What happened?" Mia asked, knowing that Ami was always up for a Vince-bashing session.

Ami lifted her head up and shook her head. "I just want to be alone," she said, her voice cracking as tears fell down her face. Mia held her hands up and nodded, exiting the room. She didn't know what was going on, but she wouldn't let it ruin her night. She ran upstairs to her room, hoping to call a friend up and share the details of her date.


	20. CHANGES

**Chapter 20: CHANGES**

_**-Past-**_

Ami felt the bed shift as extra weight was placed on it once again. She felt Vince wrap an arm around her stomach and she shrugged it off. He wrapped it around her once again, but this time more forcefully. He brought his lips to her ears and she could tell he had been crying. She could here him sniffling. "There was an accident," he whispered, as tears fell onto her face.

She flipped around and stared at him as he told her about the phone call he had just received from Letty. The phone call that had just changed everyone's lives. All the tension, drama and anger between them was shoved aside as Ami wrapped her arms around Vince as he pressed his face into her chest, trying to quiet his sobs. "Does Mia know?" V shook his head against her body and continued to sob.

"Come on, we have to go tell her," Ami said, sitting up in bed.

--

Come Monday, they were all in shambles. Their family was ripped apart limb by limb. Mr. T's accident and then Dom's incident with Linder. All in one weekend, they each found themselves alone. Mia watched as the police placed handcuffs on Dom and dragged him away. She would be utterly alone if it wasn't for Letty, Ami and Vince.

Vince wrapped his arms around Mia and placed a kiss on the top of her head, as the smaller woman cried into his chest. Letty and Ami sat on the couch both sad for different reasons. They both shared Mia's pain for the loss of their psuedo-father, Ami having lost two fathers now. But each one would cry themselves to sleep for different men. Letty for Dom and Ami for Vince. Letty had lost her man and Ami was just about to lose hers.

--

A couple of months later, they all found themselves in a routine that proved to dull and ordinary. The girls would go to school during the day, coming home for lunch and a quick change of clothes. Letty and Ami would go to the garage and spend the rest of their day there helping V and the rest of the mechanics out. Mia would head to the store and help the store staff out, writing her college essays at the counter in between ringing up the customers. The girls were a month away from graduating, while V spent his days slaving away, trying to scrape together enough money to pay the bills. Any extra time that he had, he spent it with Letty and Mia, trying to fill the void in their lives.

Mia, Letty, Leon, Jesse and Ami sat around the dining room table and glanced at each other. "It's fine guys, I'll just blow the candles out and we can save Vince a piece," Ami said, standing up and blowing out the candles on her cake. She didn't bother to make a wish. She didn't believe in happiness. In wishes. It was her 18th birthday and V was over an hour late to her birthday dinner. She tried to smile and put up a front for her friends, but they could all see through it. Her watery eyes. Her voice cracking.

They all handed her their gifts, trying to cheer the girl up. Jesse and Leon had chipped in and bought her a charm bracelet, clearly Mia's doing. Mia had bought her a perfume set and Letty had presented her with her own pair of chunky black boots. After the presents, they popped a movie in and sat down in silence to watch it.

Mia kept glancing between the clock and Ami, wondering where the hell Vince was. The movie ended and Jesse and Leon said their goodbyes. The girls tried to hang in there but they were dead tired. They dispersed into their rooms, each cursing Vince separately.

Ami turned the light off and slipped underneath her sheets, welcoming the darkness and the coolness.

--

She woke up early that morning; the house was still and silent. She brushed her teeth and changed into a black sundress before running upstairs for some breakfast. She found a covered plate on top of the table with a note addressed to her. _Good luck today. I left the reference letters and the application on top of your desk. Hope everything goes well! - Mi and Letty. _Amira took the aluminum foil off the plate and found a stack of pancakes. Her favorite.

Mia and Letty were the only ones that new about her plan. The only ones she thought would care. Ami finished her pancakes off and returned to her room, changing into a pair of jeans, black flats and a black dressy shirt. She grabbed the stack of papers off of her desk and placed them in a folder before exiting her room and hitting the stairs.

Vince scowled, as he glanced between the clock and his ajar door. He watched as Ami exited the basement all dressed up. He even noticed that she had some pep to her step. He climbed out of bed and began to change, hoping to catch up with her.

---

Amira laughed as she exited the coffee shop, stopping short as she collided with Vince. Seconds later, Jimmy emerged from the coffee shop also. Vince glared between the two of them, not sure who to verbally assault first. "See you around," Jimmy said, squeezing her arm and walking away. V crossed his arms over his chest and stared at her, waiting for an explanation.

She rolled her eyes and began her descent towards the bus stop. He followed after her, forcing her to turn around and face him. "What are you doing?" He asked, struggling to control himself. Ami lifted the coffee cup in her hand and motioned to it. "Getting coffee with an old friend," she said, pulling out change from her pocket for the bus. "So is this what you've been doing while I've been breaking my back to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table?"

Ami scoffed and watched as cars drove by. "It was a chance encounter, V. He said hi. I said hi. He said congratulations. Offered to by me coffee and I said yes. I figured I deserved it," she said, counting the change out. He shook his head, refusing to believe her. "Congratulation to what? Leaving me for the all American asshole that he is?" He barked at her.

The bus pulled up to the bus stop and began to load and unload passengers. "Because of this and because it was my birthday yesterday," she said, throwing the folder at him and boarding the bus. He yelled after her, but it was too late. The bus pulled off and he was left standing on the street feeling like an ass.

---

V tapped his fingers on the folder that was on his lap and growled. He had been waiting for hours for her. He was currently sitting in a chair in Ami's room, contemplating how he was gonna make it up to her. He had forgotten her birthday and he was pretty sure that she would come up with more things that he had fucked up on. He hadn't been around lately, but she couldn't blame him for that. Things needed to be done. She didn't understand.

He glanced at the clock and sighed. It was two in the morning and she was nowhere in sight. He had gone out and driven around looking for her, but found nothing. He stood up and left the folder on her desk, exiting her room and finding refuge in his bed. In the darkness that was his room. In the darkness he called home.

---

Ami leaned against the bathroom wall, relishing the numbness that her body currently was. She inhaled slowly, smiling at how the air made her body feel. She sighed softly, looking in the mirror and fixing her clothes. She wiped her face, getting rid of the evidence and placed the little baggy sitting on the counter in her pocket. She smiled softly at herself before exiting the bathroom.

She stepped into the darkness of the hotel room and grabbed her bag from the floor. Amira glanced at the naked man that was currently passed out on the motel's bed before exiting the room and hurrying to hail a cab before the sun came up.

---

Amira tippy toed into the living room and sat down on the couch, trying her best not to make any noise. She removed her shoes and left them by the door before making her way towards the basement stairs. She grabbed on to the walls to steady herself while trying her hardest to not wake V. She stepped into her bedroom and threw her bag on the floor, lowering her body slowly onto the bed.

She sat in the dark bedroom for what she felt was hours, but was really minutes. She leaned back, throwing her head back and giggling to herself. "Where were you?" Her body twitched as the voice startled her. She hushed him, closing her eyes.

Vince stepped inside the room and turned the light on, facing her. She groaned, slapping her hands down at her sides. "Congratulations on getting into the local college. Psych and law, huh?" He said, sitting down next to her and placing a hand on his thigh. She jumped, pushing his hand away and moving to the far corner of the bed.

He glared at her, a confused look on his face. "Don't do that," she whispered, her heart rate increasing by just having him so close. "Come here," he whispered, pulling her towards him. He captured her lips with his as she moaned into his mouth. V wrapped an arm around her and felt her up with the other. Before they both knew it, their shirts were off.

V pushed her hair back from her face and stared into her eyes. He glanced down at her semi-naked body and pushed her away. "How high are you?" He whispered, standing up from the bed and putting his shirt on. Amira shook her head and fell back onto the bed. "Did our good, old boy Jimmy do that to you?" He asked, motioning to all the bite marks and hickeys on her torso, before exiting the room.


	21. DESTRUCTION

**Chapter 20: DESTRUCTION **

_**-Past-**_

Vince slammed the wrench down and threw his head into his hands. He was tired. He was done. He felt like he had aged three years in the last couple of months. It wasn't easy. Taking care of the girls. Taking care of the garage. The shop. Paying the bills. As much as everyone helped out, he was struggling. He was racing more than ever now, trying to make all ends meet, even if it meant going crazy.

He stood up and walked into the office, slamming the door shut behind him, leaving Leon and Jesse staring after him. He fell into the desk chair and sighed, throwing his feet up on the desk and leaning back into the chair. Vince had pushed them all away, focusing on the tasks at hand. He was angry. He was tired. He was lost.

Mia and Letty had become thick as thieves after graduation. The summer had allowed them to spend a lot of time together. They had to, V was always out working and earning money- one way or another. Amira was another story. He felt that he owed her more than he owed everyone, but he was too scared to do anything about it. He owed her everything- he should've been sitting in jail right now too. But she took the heat. She risked going to jail for him.

He did her dirty work. He took on that responsibility for her. He felt guilty. Dirty. No matter how much he scrubbed and no matter how hard he worked, he still felt guilty. Dirty. All he could do was drown himself in his work and when that wasn't good enough, buy a bottle and drown his sorrows in it. He owed it to her.

He watched as Amira began summer courses at the local college, while working on a nasty coke and drinking habit. They hadn't spoken since that night she came home high as shit and marked by another man. He knew he didn't have a right to say anything to her about that- she was no longer his. And she proved that to him every time she had the chance. Always picked up different men at the races, but she never dared to bring any of them home. He knew he couldn't complain. He spent all his time worrying about Mia and Letty, knowing that he owed it to Dom and forgot all about her.

She loved school and working at the garage. He figured that as long as he stayed out of her way, she would be good. She would be able to finish up and get as far away from his fucked up self as fast she could. So she could be somebody. So she could be free from his dirt. From his guilt.

He watched her, like a hawk. For now, her habits were under control. They didn't interfere with her school work or with her shifts down at the garage. Usually on the weekends. Almost always when he woke up next to a skank from the races. He could tell, because the next day he would find her silent. Silent and staring off into the distant.

That's exactly how Vince found himself a year later. In that same position. Feet up. Leaning back in the chair. Except this time, there was a bottle of whiskey in his hands and the shop had been closed for hours. This time, he was at the local bar. Usual routine for him. He was self destructing before everyone's eyes.

---

Vince rolled over and kissed the latest skank he brought home before pushing her off the bed and telling her to hit the road. The bimbo flipped him off and got dressed, leaving his room in a hurry. He got out of bed and slipped into a pair of basketball shorts before heading towards the bathroom. On his way back, he stopped in front of Amira's door, contemplating if he should knock.

How would that conversation go? He knew it would go bad. There was no way in hell it would be good. Not after avoiding each other for almost a year. They both played a hand in that. They both made sure they didn't cross each other's paths, while giving the other no reason not to. Letty and Mia rolled their eyes every time they watched them walk on eggshells around the other. They also watched their best friends become lost in their own little worlds.

They didn't intervene, knowing that within a few months, Dom would be back. "He'll fix everything," Mia told Letty as she watched Amira leave the house, knowing that she wouldn't return for days. "I hope he fixes both of them," Letty said, nodding towards the basement. The girls embraced in a hug, knowing that soon their rock would be back. Soon they would be a family again.


	22. Distance

**Chapter 22: Distance**

**-Present-**

Amira snatched the envelope from the lady behind the desk and exited the local clinic. She ran outside to her car and paced. It didn't help because she could already feel the anxiety attack coming on. She already knew that she was breaking down. She knew that any minute now, the Mexican town she was currently in would be enjoying a nice show, courtesy of her.

Letty stepped out of the car and placed a hand on her shoulder. Amira handed her the envelope, her hand shaking as she did so. "Come on," she whispered, dragging her inside the car and taking the wheel. She pulled off, tire marks in their place.

They reached the house in record time, already finding Mia and Vince outside, waiting for them. The girls climbed out of the car and joined them. "So… Is Sam Vince's daughter?" Mia said, jumping in place. "It doesn't matter. She's my daughter either way," Vince said, snatching the envelope from Letty's hand. Mia patted V on the back and shrieked as he began to open the envelope.

Amira snatched the envelope out of his hand and held a hand up. "Not because of anything, but can I have a minute ladies?" She said, motioning to the house. The girls rolled their eyes and groaned, but made their way inside the house, leaving V and Ami out under the setting sun.

"You said that no matter what she was yours," she whispered, pulling a lighter out of her pocket and holding it up. "We already got the results, Ami. It's not gonna hurt to look," he said, reaching for the envelope. She stepped back and shook her head. "You can look, but I don't want to know what it says on there. Keep it a secret, V. When you're done, burn it," she said, handing him the paper and the lighter.

Amira walked away, keeping her distance from the truth.

---

They sat around the dining room table, all feeling at peace for once. Well as close as they could with everything that had happened recently. Each in their corresponding spots. Dom between Letty and Mia. Leon next to Letty. Vince next to Mia. Ami next to Vince. Sam on Vince's lap. As if they had never left, never parted ways.

After dinner was done, they all helped clear the table and do the dishes. They didn't dump them on Mia as usual. They considered it bonding. They had to keep each other close now. Hold each other up. They didn't know where they were going from here. They were up a creek without a paddle. All they had were each other.

"You disgust me, Leon. You'll sleep with anything that has a pulse," Ami said, as Leon said his goodbyes and left for a date with some waitress from some nearby restaurant. She grabbed a pen and a notepad from the coffee table and picked up the house phone, dialing her house and checking her voicemail. She wrote the messages down and hung up.

She strutted into the kitchen and threw the note pad down on the table. Dom turned away from the pot he was scrubbing and raised an eyebrow at her. "We have a problem," she said, twirling the pen around in her hand. The team stopped what they were doing and faced her, bracing themselves for bad news. "Sam, can you go and play in the living room for a bit? I'll be in to change you into your pjs and put you to bed in a few," Ami said.

The little girl hopped off of Vince's lap, where she had taken permanent residence and ran into the living room, leaving the adults alone. They heard the television turn on and the changing of channels. "I called my apartment and checked my voicemail. Apart from my boss calling and threatening to fire me and Sam's teachers up my ass about her absences- I got a call from the hospital. Things with Jesse aren't looking too good," she said.

Letty stepped towards her and snatched the pen she was fidgeting with out of her hand. "What do you mean not too good?" She asked. Ami took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before delivering the final blow. "There were some complication with his latest surgery. Doctor's give him a couple of days. And that's being optimistic," she whispered. Dom dropped the pot in his hand and shook his head. "I'm gonna need to go back and handle things," Amira said, plopping down in one of the kitchen chairs.

They all nodded, knowing that funeral preparations needed to be made. "It might be a while before I come back," she said, her eyes landing on Vince. "What?" Mia said, shaking her head. "You can't leave. We finally got you and Sam back. You can't just leave," she continued, voicing Vince's thoughts. Amira shrugged and waved around the room. "I need to go back to work. Sam needs to go back to school. Someone needs to pay for Jesse's hospital bills and what not. I can't do that from here. I need to make money," she said.

"We have money. We'll take care of everything," Dom said, drying his hands on a dish towel. "It's not that simple. That detective is gonna be up my ass, Dom. He's gonna ask where the money came from. If I can't prove where I got it, I'll be sitting in a cell all by myself," she said. Dom cursed, throwing the towel onto the counter. Letty walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his chest. Mia did the same, leaving Ami and V staring at each other.

---

"I guess this is goodbye for now," V whispered, sitting down at the edge of the bed. "Where's Sam?" Ami asked, sitting down next to him. "Mia took her for the night. Figured we needed our privacy," he replied. She scoffed, staring off into the darkness of the room they were currently in.

They sat side by side on Vince's bed, in the dark. The house was silent as everyone went to bed earlier than usual, taking in the fact that their baby brother was dying. "Promise you'll come back," he whispered, reaching out and taking her hand in his. She looked over at him and smirked. "I'll come back, V. Don't know when, but I know I will," she whispered back, tightening her hold on his hand.

He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips, knowing that it would be a while before they even exchanged glances again. "Don't let her forget me," he whispered against her lips. "I never forgot you. What makes you think she will?" Ami responded, tangling her hands in his hair.

They fell back in the bed, Ami climbing on top of V, minding his wounds. She shivered, as his beard scraped across her smooth cheek. They kissed for what felt like hours, their lips raw as they parted, staring intently into each other's eyes. She climbed off of him and stood in front of the bed, shedding her clothes and standing in front of him naked.

He stood up also and shed his clothes, with her help of course. They slid underneath the covers, their skin connecting instantly as Vince climbed on top of her and continued to devour her with his mouth. With his good arm, he roamed her body, getting acquainted with the crevices he used to call his, years ago. She did the same, memorizing every muscle in his back, relishing on how he could make her melt with just one touch.

She moaned, as V entered her. Like as if they had never parted, they found their love renewed. It was crazy and they both knew it, but they didn't care. Too much time had passed. Too many things had gone wrong. It was time to right some of them.

---

Amira threw the last of their stuff in the trunk and sighed, glancing back at the team. She stood there as they all said their goodbyes to Sam. She pulled the beanie on the top of her down, anything to keep herself from crying. Anything to keep herself from saying fuck it and never leaving their sight again. But she knew that she had to. She knew that she had no other choice.

Dom took Sam from Mia's arms and handed her to Vince. He patted his best friend on the back and motioned to Ami, knowing that it would break his friend's heart to let go of his family. Vince tightened his grasp on Sam and placed a kiss on the top of her head as they crossed the street. He inhaled her scent- a mix of lavender and vanilla. He would miss it. He would live for it.

"See you soon, kiddo," he whispered. Sam wrapped her arms around him and smiled, not really understanding what was going on. She just thought it was another drive. She thought that she would be back before she knew it. "Love you, daddy," she said, jumping down from his arms and opening the car door.

Amira stood aside and let V help her in. He strapped her in and closed the door, leaving them standing in front of each other. She smiled weakly and opened the driver's side door, getting in. He shut the door softly when she got in and watched her turn on the car and put her seatbelt on.

They fidgeted, both staring at each other, not sure what to say. "Dom checked under the hood and Leon changed your tires. The drive back should be no problem," he said. Ami nodded weakly and grasped the wheel. "See you around, huh?" She said, taking a hand off the wheel to shift gears. She had to leave. Had to run. Had to hit the open road and release that burning feeling in her chest. Had to stop her heart from trying to crawl out of her chest. "You forgot something," he whispered, reaching into her pocket and holding out his hand.

Amira stared down at his hand and a sob escaped her mouth as she realized what was in it. Her engagement ring. The one he had given her years ago. The one she had returned. The one he was giving to her once again. She slowly reached over and picked the ring up, staring at it intensely. By the time she had put the ring on and looked up, he was walking across the street.

She shifted gears and sped off, tire marks in her place.

She needed to put distance between her and her heart.


	23. ROCK

**Chapter 23: **ROCK

_**-Past-**_

Amira shook her hips to the reggae song blasting out of the speakers a few feet away. She backed her ass up on the guy she was currently dancing with and sang along. Her body was drenched in sweat, her barely there clothes clinging to her body, showing off her curves.

Dom wrapped an arm around Letty and motioned to her. "What's the story there?" He asked, watching as Vince glared holes into the back of Ami's head. They were currently at the fort, enjoying Dom's welcome home party. Everyone had come out to welcome the king back. Everyone was in good spirits. Everyone- except Vince.

"That's Vince's story to tell. And it's a crazy one," she said, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him closer. Dom nodded and took a sip from his beer, not really wanting to get in between V and Ami. They had their history. Their issues. They would work it out.

As the song ended, Ami and the guy parted ways and she headed into the kitchen. "My oh my, how times have changed," Dom said, entering after her. She reached into the fridge and pulled out a beer. "Whaddya mean?" She asked, walking over to the counter and picking up the bottle opener.

Dom motioned out back and she followed. He sat on top of the picnic table and patted the spot next to him. She climbed up on the table and produced a pack of cigarettes from her back pocket. She lit one up and cocked an eyebrow when she saw Dom reach for one also. "Well if it isn't the pot calling the kettle black," she said, motioning to the cigarette in between his fingers.

"It's been a long two years," he said, taking a pull. Ami nodded and took a pull herself. "Yeah, it has," she said sadly, starring off into the distance. "Would you like to share or should I beat it out of V?" She shrugged, not really knowing what to say. "It's hard to explain, Dom. There's a lot of things about V that I don't think you know. A lot of things about me you don't know. Time has taken us in different directions and I think that we're still hoping that somehow we'll get our shit together," she said.

He nodded and smirked at her. "He carries that weight on his shoulders, ya know. Every day he gets up and looks in the mirror and sees that guilt sitting on there, like a big old chip. He doesn't sleep because all he does is replay that night over and over in his head. He keeps beating himself up over it," he said. Amira sighed and took a deep pull of her cigarette. "We just… We're different people now, Dom."

Dom shrugged and flicked his cigarette away. "I think that the only thing keeping you two apart is the fact that you have your heads up each other's asses. But then again, as cliché as it sounds- if you two are meant to be, you'll come back to each other," he said, standing up from the table and heading towards the house, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

---

Amira sauntered up the driveway, heading towards the backyard, not wanting to deal with the house and all of its ever increasing habitants. Dom had recently asked Leon and Jesse to move in, lessening the load on his shoulders with the bills and what not. The place now seemed full of chaos and madness. All she wanted to do was go home and lay down, tune out all the voices. Forget everything. Just sleep. The noise drove her mad, especially when she came home high on coke. All she wanted to do was sit there and listen to the silence. It let her think. Let her process. But now that was nearly impossible.

She climbed on to the picnic table with as much grace as she could in her condition. She didn't know how she made it back to the fort in one piece and it didn't matter as she stretched out on the table and stared up at the sky. The sky opened up, unleashing a soft drizzle upon her. She smiled up at the sky, laughing as she tried to count the stars.

She listened as the house made its usual noises. She could hear Dom lifting weights in his room. Jesse typing away at his computer. Leon playing some video game. Mia on the phone. Letty watching television and V… she didn't hear him but his car was in the driveway. She knew because she steadied herself against it as she made her descent into the backyard, silently hoping that the alarm didn't go off.

She shrugged and closed her eyes, relishing the soft rain drops that were falling on her face. She could feel them. She was no longer numb. As long as she was high, she was feeling. That's all she wanted. To feel.

---

"What the hell is going on?" Dom asked, motioning to the body strewn out on his picnic table. "I think there might be something wrong with her, V. I tried to wake her and I got nothing," Mia said, pushing him towards the backyard. Vince scowled and walked over to the picnic table. He reached over and slapped Ami across the face. She moaned, opening her eyes and glancing around her nervously. He simply turned around and made his way back into the kitchen.

"She's fine," he barked, sitting back down at the table and finishing his breakfast. Dom glared around the room, holding his hands up as Ami walked into the house and directly into the basement. Letty and Mia stared at each other and then at V. "Is anybody gonna explain?" He barked. Mia grabbed Letty's hand and dragged her out of the room, knowing that Dom would put an end to all the tension once and for all. They knew that Dom would fix their family.

Dom sat down across from Vince and cleared his throat. Vince cocked his head to the side and slammed his fork down, pushing his plate away. "I'm back now, V. Time to share the responsibilities," Dom said, leaning back in his chair. "I'll take care of her. She's my responsibility," Vince said, standing up from the table and heading towards the basement.

---

Amira found Vince sitting on her bed when she exited the shower. She entered the bedroom, pulling her towel around her body tightly. She went about her business as usual, knowing that it would piss him off. "You need to cut this shit out. I let it slide, but Dom won't stand for it," he said, watching her as she got dressed.

She ran her fingers through her wet hair and continued to do her makeup. "Are you listening to me?" He asked, feeling his blood boiling at her reaction. Amira continued about her business and continued to keep ignoring him. She grabbed her bag and textbooks and exited the room, leaving him starring after her bewildered.

He growled as she began to tear her room apart. He needed to find her stash. Get rid of it before Dom found out what was really going on and kicked her ass. Before he kicked her out of the house. He wouldn't want anything that would violate his parole in the house.

After searching her desk, he walked over to her night stand table and opened the drawer. Jackpot. He found several vials and little bags full of cocaine. He kept digging into the drawer, making sure he got all of it before leaving. And that's when his hand brushed against something- a stack of pictures. He grabbed the stack and sat down on the edge of the bed, flipping through the pictures. Mostly pictures of her and her mother. The rest of the team. Picture of her and him. And a sonogram picture.

He did a double take as his eyes fell on the sonogram picture, not believing his eyes. The top right hand of it had Amira's name on it and it was dated almost two years ago. He pocketed the picture and exited the room, making sure to flush the narcotics before exiting the basement.


	24. LOST

**Chapter 24: LOST**

_**-Past-**_

Amira nodded to Leon and Jesse, who were currently playing video games on the couch once again. She threw her textbooks on the couch and watched as Letty walked up to her, attitude strewn all over her face. "I don't know what you did, but you better fix it. Vince is in a foul mood, meaning that Dom's in a foul mood, meaning that I'm in a fucked up mood, meaning that you are about to be in one also," she said, pointing to the basement.

Amira groaned. She was tired. She had spent the entire day in the library studying for midterms. All she wanted to do was get some shut eye and then get ready for class tomorrow. She didn't have the time or energy to spend it arguing with Vince. She trudged down the basement stairs and found Vince sitting at the bottom of them.

He looked up and stood when he saw her. She walked around him and stood in the middle of the basement, her arms crossed over her chest, waiting for him to say something. V reached into his pocket and pulled out the sonogram, holding it up for her to see. "You want to tell me something?" He said, his face straight and his voice steady.

"You went through my stuff?" She asked, snatching the piece of paper out of his hand and ripping it apart. "I had to find your stash and get rid of it," he said. Amira turned around and opened her bedroom door, finding her room completely trashed. She turned back towards V and began to clap. "Hooray! You've accomplished nothing," she said, sarcastically.

"What happened to the baby?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Got rid of it," she replied, leaning against the bedroom wall and staring at him. "Did you ever think about telling me about it?" He yelled. "Did you ever think I deserved a right to know?"

She shrugged and shook her head. "It was the right thing to do, Vince. End of story," she yelled back, walking into her room and slamming the door shut. He kicked the door open and glared at her. He watched as she began to try to put her room together, try to bring order to her life once again. What she did, he undid, as he went over and pushed her television right off it's stand. She dropped the papers in her hand and stared at the broken television. "Fine. I like it better this way. Has character," she said, once again sarcastically.

"You think this is a joke," he said, stepping towards her. "No, I don't. I rather just ignore you and this fucked up situation until I forget about it," she said, walking out of her room and into the basement's small living room. He followed her and grabbed her arm, flipping her around. "You can't ignore what you did. Is that why you run around snorting everything you can find? Fucking whoever will give you the time of day? Trying to replace me and the baby?" He yelled.

Amira laughed. Not just any laugh, but a good, whole hearted laugh that probably rocked the entire house. "You give yourself too much credit, V. I wasn't trying to replace, I was trying to forget," she spat out. He shook his head and began to berate her. Yelling at the top of his lungs about how she was a slut, a crackhead, a cold hearted bitch. She stood there and took it all. She deserved it. She knew he was angry. At everything.

But the more he yelled, the more he put her down, the harder and faster her heart beated. She felt the pressure building and before she knew it, tears were streaming down her face and she was yelling back. "What was I supposed to do V? You spent all your time trying to make ends meet. Days would go by and we wouldn't cross paths. Whatever time you did have, you spent it with Mia or Letty. What was I supposed to do? Have that baby and doom us all?" She yelled.

Vince scoffed and shook his head. "Don't make excuses for your actions! Don't use them as an excuse for your mistakes," he spat out. Ami threw her hands up and sighed. "The baby is gone, V. We are done! What's the point of bringing it up? Knowing that all we're gonna do is argue about it until one of gives up and storms out," she yelled.

He opened his mouth to say something else, but quickly shut it. She was right. They couldn't fix this. They couldn't bounce back from this. "No more drugs," he said, sitting down on the couch, throwing his head back over the top of it. She stood behind him, thinking of what to say to right the situation. What to say to fill the unbearable silence. What to say to put her mind to ease. But it was too late, her mind was already running a mile a minute, it was already eating away at her. "I'm sorry," she whispered, bending down and placing a kiss on his forehead.

She walked into her room and sat on the edge of the bed, placing her head between her legs and sobbing. She was lost in her own sea of fuck ups. She didn't know how or when she became so lost, but there she was. Struggling to get a breath. Hanging on by a thread. Reaching for something that wasn't there.

Amira stood up and began to grab clothes. She shoved them into her bookbag and ran for the door. It was what she was good at. When things at home got too crazy, she ran to Vince's. Now things were shot to hell over here, so she ran. She ran right past Mia and Letty, who looked at her with worry. She ran right past Dom, who was yelling her name.

She ran.


	25. RUNNING

**Chapter 25: **RUNNING

_**-Past-**_

She showed up to work the next day, like as if nothing had happened. She kept to herself, didn't say a word to anyone. Just did her work. Did her hours. As she walked into the office to pick up her paycheck, she was ambushed by Dom.

He shut the office door behind her and crossed his arms over his chest, staring her down. She sighed and sat down in the chair in front of his desk. Dom sat down behind the desk and watched her. "Where you staying?" He asked, pulling out his checkbook. "My friend's," she said, looking at the floor. He pulled a check out and handed it to her after filling it out.

"You can't stay there forever," he said, leaning back in his chair. Ami stood up and smiled at him. "Thanks for the check," she said, heading for the door. "Sit," he barked, motioning to the chair. She groaned and plopped down into the chair.

"Me and Letty go through this all the time. You can't move out every time you guys hit a rough patch in your relationship. You guys gotta understand that you're expecting too much out of each other. Set the bar low, work your way up from there," he said. Amira nodded, not really wanting to hear it. She just wanted to get her money and to go. Be as far away as possible from Vince or anything that reminded her of him.

"Dom, I won't be coming back to work anymore. I've decided that I need to do my own thing for a while."

---

A month later, Amira found herself sliding behind the wheel of her very first car. She shrieked as she turned it on and the Cutlass convertible roared to life. "Sweet," Diana said, putting her seatbelt on. Ami smiled at her new roommate and pulled out of the garage where she had just purchased the reconstructed car. "This is gonna make getting to and from work so much easier," Ami said, turning the radio on and fumbling around for a good station.

If she had been paying attention to the road, she would've seen Vince drive right past her and do a u-turn when he realized it was her. She sang along with an old song that was playing on the radio as she drove through the town towards the apartment her and Diana rented together. "Dude, there's a parking spot right in front of the building," Diana said, pointing to the spot.

Amira sped up and caught the spot before any of the other cars prowling for a parking spot could take it. The girls bounded up the stairs without a worry, as Vince double parked down the street and kept his eyes on them.

---

She heard a knock on the dressing room door and turned around to find Eric, the club's bouncer. "There's some guy here to see you," he said, waiting for her approval. Amira looked up in confusion, knowing that none of her friends knew where she worked. "That's impossible," she replied, pulling her hair out of her ponytail and letting it run down her back in waves. "He says his name is V, that you would know him," he said.

Amira froze and nodded slowly, knowing that it was inevitable. She glanced down at her current attire and cursed, looking into the mirror and trying to fix her makeup. "Nice," he said, stepping into her dressing room and eyeing the see through bikini she was currently wearing. She turned around and faced Vince, waving her arms around.

"Go on, get it out your system," she said, slipping into a pair of six inch heels. "Just came to see how you were doing. Now I know," V said, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms over his chest. She sighed and began to rub baby oil over herself. "I needed a car, rent money and tuition is sky rocketing these days. I needed money and I needed it fast," she said.

Vince grunted and held his hands up. "I'm not judging you, sister. Glad to see that being a stripper is paying so well." Amira put the bottle of baby oil down and faced him, her face a blank slate. "So what now?" She asked. He shrugged and made his way towards the door. "Just wanted to see how you were doing," he said, before walking out.

She stared after him, the strong urge to run after him ripping her apart. But she wasn't a part of his life anymore. She had built her own. She had learned to be self sufficient. She had moved out and grown up. She needed to if, she was gonna stop running.


	26. PERSPECTIVE

**Chapter 26: **PERSPECTIVE

_**-Past-**_

Amira thanked the doctor as he ripped a page off of his prescription pad and handed it to her. "If this doesn't work out, come back immediately to see me before it gets any worse. And take care, Amira," the doctor said, before walking away. It was her third visit this week to the hospital for random migraines. The doctor says they were stressed induced, but Amira couldn't for the life of her fathom what could be stressing her out. Work and school were going along very well. She spent her nights tinkering with her car or watching television with Diana. It didn't get any less stress free than that.

She walked over to the nurse's desk and began to chat up her newest friend, Nurse Elizabeth Matthews. The two went to the same school, for different programs, but had met in the school cafeteria one day. Ever since then, they would go on lunch dates whenever they had a chance to. The only reason Amira went to the hospital for the migraines was because Liz had dragged her. And she wasn't nice about it.

"Girl, I think I'm gonna kill myself. I haven't juggled these many patients in ever," Elizabeth said, slapping a big pile of patient folders on the counter. Elizabeth was in her early 20s and stood a mere 5 feet, 2 inches. The girl was short and skinny, but she made up for it with tons of personality. One wrong look and she would be using her medical knowledge to bring you to your knees. And Amira loved this about her. She was a firecracker and looked the part too, her red hair and bright green eyes lighting up any room that she walked into.

Amira glanced down at the folders in front of her and shook her head. "I'm guessing this means that we're not hitting up that club tonight?" She asked, reaching out and organizing the folders. She froze as one of the names on the right hand tabs stood out to her. Vincent Casiano. "What's wrong with this one?" She asked, opening the folder and staring at all the medical jargon that was written down.

Elizabeth leaned over her shoulder and sighed, shaking her head. "Flipped his car. Poor guy was in a coma for two days. Woke up last night. Says here he has a punctured lung, broken ribs, some lacerations," she said, grabbing the folder from her friend and putting it back on the stack. "He'll be fine right?" Amira almost yelled at her.

The smaller woman cocked an eyebrow and watched her friend. "Do I even wanna know? He'll be fine. Docs will probably release him in a couple of days. He's in room 241, if you're interested," she said, pointing to the right, where the elevators were. "Maybe later," Amira whispered. She said her goodbyes and made her way down to the hospital's pharmacy, feeling a migraine coming on.

---

She snuck back into the hospital and managed to use visiting Elizabeth as an excuse to get past the security guard. Visiting hours had been over for the past two hours, but she couldn't help herself. She needed to see him. Make sure he was in one piece. Make sure he was still alive and breathing. Kicking and screaming. Being Vince.

She closed the room door behind her softly and tip toed over to Vince's bed. Amira reached into her messenger bag and froze, when she heard him clear his throat. "Isn't this a surprise," he said, turning on the lamp on the nightstand next to his hospital bed. She turned around and held up the McDonald's bag, blushing. She had managed to get away with it for the last couple of days, but Vince had finally caught her.

"I figured, ya know.." She said, setting the bag down on the table. "Last night's fries were cold," he said, reaching over to the bag and pulling out the fries. "Much better," he muttered, shoving half of them into his mouth. She stood in place and watched him devour the fries in silence. She fidgeted in place, not really knowing what to say or do. "Thanks. The nurse found the wrappers from last night in the garbage can. She was not happy," he said.

"Yeah, she gave me an earful about feeding you that crap and then about sneaking in here after hours," Ami said. "Straw?" Vince barked, picking up the drink, she brought him. She reached into her bag and pulled out a straw and handed it to him. "Well, I'm gonna get going," she said, heading for the door.

"Wait," V said. Amira turned and her face lit up at the prospect of him actually wanting her around. She walked back to the bed and smiled at him. "Wait until I'm done so you can take the garbage with you before the nurse is up my ass again," he said. Her face dropped, feeling like an ass for getting her hopes up.

She plopped down into the nearest chair and groaned. Vince pulled out the big mac she had brought him and ate slowly, while watching her. "How did you find out about me?" He asked, taking a sip of his soda. "Chance encounter," she replied, reaching into her bag and pulling out a psychology textbook. She opened it and flipped to the chapter she was trying to finish at home.

"How's school going?" He asked, nodding to her textbook. "Good. Transferred to UCLA this semester. Thinking about doing a semester abroad next year," she replied, flipping pages. "That might explain why I didn't find you at the local college when I went looking for you," he said. She grunted, not believing he took the time out to look for her.

"For what, V? We had nothing to say to each other. All we do is hurt each other just because it makes us feel good on the inside," she said, slamming her textbook shut. He shrugged and shoved the last of his hamburger into his mouth. "I figured we could try being friends this time," he said, tossing all the wrappers into the Mc Donald's bag and handing them to her.

"I owe it to you," he whispered, as she grabbed the bag. "Get better, V," she said, exiting the room and ditching the bag of evidence. She stopped by the nurses' station and found Elizabeth surrounded in paperwork. She looked up and growled at her friend. "You were in there feeding him that death between buns, weren't you?" She asked, slamming her hands down on the table. "Guilty as charged. But he's getting released tomorrow so he can get his own death between buns," Amira said, waving her goodbyes before making her way towards the elevator.

---

Amira shot up in bed, hearing her bedroom window squeak as it was opened. She reached into the nightstand table and as quietly as she could and pulled out the gun she had bought with her first paycheck. It was necessary. Sometimes the sun wasn't even up when she left the strip club. She felt better knowing that if some crazed stalker/ admirer from the club was following her home she would be able defend herself.

She sat up in bed and trained her gun on the body that was currently climbing into her bedroom. She watched as the body stumbled over the ledge and fell flat on its face. "Fuck me," the body growled out, burping soon after. That's when the stench of tequila hit her. She reached over and turned the light on; rolling her eyes as she realized it was Vince.

He covered his eyes from the blinding light and groaned. "You know, I have a front door and my daddy's dead and cold. You can use it," she said, getting rid of the gun and sliding out of bed. She walked over to him and helped him up. "I was trying to be romantic," he slurred, sitting down on the edge of the bed. She shook her head at him and laughed. Just like old times.

---

Countless of weeks later, Ami and Vince fell back onto the couch, discussing the latest Jean Claude movie they had just returned from watching at the movie theater. It had become part of their daily routine. Working on their friendship. Bettering themselves. Vince found himself taking Amira to her therapy sessions with her psychologist. She was helping Amira work through the years of abuse she had endured at the hands of her father. It only seemed right to rely on what she wanted her career to be, to help her sort things out in her head.

But it was all in vain. A few months went by and they were soon back to their old ways. Their old devices. Vince had moved in with Amira and they were back to sleeping in the same bed once again. Soon after, they started crawling down each other's throats, undoing the friendship and love they had spent months rebuilding.

Everything that had been put in perspective was now hazy. They both knew they had to do something before they were sentenced to life with each other.


	27. Missing

**A/N: **Thanks to everyone that has been reading and reviewing! You guys don't know how much it means that someone is taking time out of their day to read the ramblings that are going through my head. So from here on out the story will be present day. I hope you guys enjoy!

**Chapter 27: **Missing

Amira sighed as she laid the sleeping girl out on Vince's bed. She pulled a bed sheet over her and tucked her in, making sure to leave enough room to allow herself to crawl into bed also. Amira glanced around the room and shook her head. Typical Vince, she thought to herself as she began to pick up the massive amounts of dirty clothes that littered the floor. She made her way towards the washing machine, figuring that if she couldn't sleep she might as well pick up the house.

When she arrived back to Los Angeles, Amira had rushed to the hospital to see Jesse and say her goodbyes, but she was too late. They had just finished pronouncing him as she entered his hospital room. Soon after that, she found herself falling into more debt than she could handle. Her apartment. Jesse's hospital bills. His funeral costs. And that didn't include all the debt that the garage was acquiring as it sat there closed.

She didn't have any choice but to move into the Toretto house, once again. She didn't have any other choice than to hire two mechanics and a family down the street to man the shop and store with her. She didn't have any other choice than to take to the streets and start racing. Every little bit helps, she thought to herself as she spread herself thin.

She was now understanding what Vince was dealing with when Dom got locked, except she had it easier. She only had one mouth to feed, while V had three. She found herself working non-stop much like he had. She found herself leaving Samantha at Elizabeth's house every weekend as she raced for the next mortgage payment. Their next meal.

---

Dom sat down next to his friend and watched as he drank himself into another stupor. "How you holding up?" He asked, placing a hand on his shoulder, trying to offer whatever comfort he could. "It's not the same," V whispered, tears sliding down his face. "They are coming back, Vince. You know Amira would never turn her back on us. Time has taught you that," Dom said. Vince nodded, starring off into the distance, there was nothing neither of them could do.

Mia and Letty watched from the kitchen window as Dom tried to bring their friend back. Vince had become a shell of the man he once was. His weight had dropped dramatically and he barely left his room. When he did, it was to sit out on the beach and drink. He drank until the heart ache stopped. Until everyone seemed to be just a figment of his imagination.

---

Amira groaned and pulled her tired body off of the couch, already mentally cursing whoever had dared ring the door bell and make her move off the couch. She had spent the last hour ditching the cops and all she wanted to do was go home, sleep and then go and pick up Samantha from Elizabeth's.

She yanked the door opened and opened her mouth to start cursing but quickly shut it, crossing her arms over her chest and standing her ground. "Miss Estevez, funny seeing you again. Here of all places," he said, brushing past her and entering the house. She rolled her eyes and leaned against the door. "What do you want, Detective Lyons?" She spat out.

He shook his head and stood in front of her, a small smile on his face. "It seems that Toretto has yet to make an appearance in California. Which means, that unless your last name is Toretto, you are trespassing on private property. Which means, that unless Toretto is gonna show up at the precinct and tells us to drop the charges, you're going downtown," he said.

She scoffed and shook her head. "Is this your plan to get Dominic to turn himself in for whatever crime it is that you think he committed?" She asked. He nodded and pulled out a pair of cuffs from his pocket, holding them out to her. "That and all the charges I'm gonna slap you with when I take you downtown. I don't care if I have to plant evidence or put a couple bodies in your name, you will be the one that brings him back and ultimately brings him down," he said.

Amira held her wrists out, knowing that they could do it one of two ways. Nice and clean or rough and dirty.


	28. Helping Hand

**Chapter 28:** Helping Hand

"You have 24 hours until I officially charge you with something. Think about that gorgeous little girl of yours. Think about the asshole that Toretto really is. Tell me where he is and I'll go away. Tell me where he is hiding out at and I'll make sure you get to see your little baby girl. If not, I'll find her wherever she is and I'm gonna make sure she ends up in a group home that makes Lompoc look like a sleep away camp," Lyons said, slamming the door shut, encaging her in the cell.

He smiled at her and walked away, leaving Amira alone with the cop who was in charge of the cells. She watched as the cop stared at her like as if she had two heads. She groaned and slammed her hands against the bars. She had to get out. She had to find Samantha before Lyons did. She had to go back to V. Where nobody could touch her and her family.

The cop stood up and approached her, glancing around him. "Is it true that you know where Toretto is?" He whispered. Amira rolled her eyes and growled. She stared into the blonde man's face and scowled. "That idiot Lyons already threatened me with undetermined jail time and with taking my daughter away. What makes you think I'm gonna tell you shit?" She yelled.

"My name is Brian. If you're really as close to Dom as Lyons thinks you are, you'll know all about me," he whispered, stepping closer to her. She reached in through the bars and grabbed on to his shirt collar, banging his face against them. Amira let him drop like a sack of potatoes and spat on him. "Not Dom. My weakness is Vince," she said, as she began to pace the cell.

"You have to tell me where they are. I need to see Mia. I need to tell her that I love her. Tell her that I'm sorry," he said, standing up the floor, grabbing on to his face. "What about your job?" He scoffed and motioned around the room. "They stuck me down here behind a desk. This is as far as my career is going. I have nothing to lose," he said.

She stopped pacing and stared intently at him. She had nothing to lose either. Only thing she could do was trust the buster and hope that he didn't do her wrong. She rather have Toretto go to jail than have Sam end up in a home. No way. No fucking way.

"I tell you where Dom and the team are. You do me a favor," she said, not believing she was actually gonna trust him. He stepped towards her and watched her fidget. "My daughter, Sam. You have to go and get her. She's at a friend's house. She won't trust you but tell her that you're her daddy's friend. Convince her that you know Vince. Either that or my friend will shoot you where you stand. That's the only way the team will take you back. The only way Dom won't kill you and Vince won't hide the body, is if you bring his daughter back," she said.

Brian handed her a piece of paper and a pen, where she proceeded to write down Elizabeth's address, a quick note for her and what she could remember of the directions towards the team's hideout. They locked eyes and stared at each other. "Lyons is a hard ass. He really is gonna make sure you go to jail. He has no evidence against the team. He's just searching for something. Use your one phone call and get a good lawyer," Brian said, before walking out of the room.

---

Brian rang the doorbell and waited for the footsteps to approach the door before he began to clear his throat and try to come up with a story that was believable. The door opened and he found a short woman standing in front of him. Her red hair was wild and her green eyes were intense. He watched as a little girl stuck her head out from behind her and stared up at him. He smiled. She was the spitting image of Vince. Crazy dark hair. Bright blue eyes. And a scowl that could take his on any day.

"Can I help you?" The woman asked, glaring at him. "Elizabeth? My name is Brian. Amira sent me," he said, holding out the note she had written for her. Elizabeth snatched the piece of paper from his hand and yanked it open. She groaned as she read it's contents, not liking what was currently going on. "You know, I don't tan well. She knows this. She knows I hate the sun. And she asks me to go south with you. She knows I don't tan. Period," she said, standing aside and letting him pass into her house.

Brian watched as the woman ranted and raved as she began to collect her things. He smiled, realizing that she was a lot like Letty. Head strong. She disappeared upstairs and left Brian alone with the little girl. He watched as the girl stared up at him, her big, bright blue eyes boring a hole into his head. "I know your dad," he whispered, reaching for her. She slapped his hands away and continued to scowl.

"Tell me something about him," she demanded, placing a hand on her hips and staring at him. "I know all his friends. Dom, Letty, Leon and Mia," he said, knowing that she had picked up that latest move from his girl. His Mia. The girl giggled and began to warm up to him. "Can you take me to see them? I miss them a lot," she said, climbing on to the couch and standing up in front of him.

"Yeah. We're gonna take a drive with Elizabeth. Go see your daddy," Brian said, ruffling the girl's hair. She jumped off the couch and ran towards the bottom of the stairs. "Auntie Liz! Hurry! We have to go now!" She yelled. Elizabeth appeared at the top of the stairs, a duffel bag in tow. "Shaddup. I'm going as fast as I can," she muttered.

Brian stood up and took the duffel bag from her hand. "Grab Bobby," Elizabeth said, heading into the kitchen. The little girl ran into the dining room and returned with a full sized SpongeBob that took up the space of a normal sized person. Elizabeth returned with a bag full of snacks and motioned to Brian to get the door. They exited the house and stood in front of her house, staring at Brian's car. "What's going on here?" She asked.

"We can't take my car, just in case the police notice anything fishy and start digging. We gotta take yours," he said. Liz reached into her bag and pulled out her car keys, throwing them at him. "There's a Mustang in the garage," she said, hurrying him along.

He backed out of the garage and the girls hopped in, preparing for the long ride ahead.

---

The team groaned as the doorbell rang. They were all currently sitting in the living room, staring each other down, trying to see who would punk out and open the door. The doorbell rang again but this time there were kicks at it. Leon cursed and stood up, making his way towards the door. He yanked it open and smiled. "What the hell took you so long?" A small voice said. Leon grabbed at his leg as Samantha kicked his shin and ran into the house. She spotted Vince on the couch and ran into his arms.

"Hello, people," a voice drawled out. Everyone turned away from the adorable toddler in their living room and found a woman standing in the doorway, holding a gigantic sized SpongeBob. "I come bearing gifts," she said, shoving the SpongeBob Leon's way and dumping her duffel bag on the ground. She walked into the house and plopped down on the couch next to Vince. "You want to make the introductions, sweetheart?" She asked, glancing between Sam and him.

"Daddy, this is Auntie Liz. Auntie Liz, this is…" But Samantha was interrupted by her dear, old Auntie Liz. "Vincent Casiano. I almost lost my job because of you. Amira kept sneaking you in food, knowing that the hospital had you on a strict diet," she said, holding out a hand. Vince grasped it, not knowing what to make of their arrival.

"How did you get here?" Dom asked. "Like I said, I come bearing gifts," Liz said, pointing out the door. Dom glanced outside the window and growled. "Mia, this one is for you," he said. She stood up from her position on the floor and glanced outside. Her heart dropped as she took the scene in front of her in. She ran out the door and across the street in seconds. Right into his arms. Like as if he had never been gone.


	29. Questions

**Chapter 29: **Questions

"We have a problem," Mia said, emerging into the house an hour later. "That's my cue," Liz said, standing up from the couch and picking up Sam. They headed out back, giving the team their privacy. "Where's Amira?" Vince said, standing up and facing Brian. Dom stepped in between them, knowing that it wasn't the right time or place to have another infamous brawl between the two. "She's in jail. She's gonna do hard time because of us," Brian said. "It's why she told Brian where we were. So he could bring Sam down here. She's really going to prison," Mia said, tears falling down her face.

"Whoa. Hold on there. Explain what the hell is going on," Letty said, wrapping her arms around Mia. "There's a new detective handling the case. He's planting evidence against her so she would flip and tell him where you guys are. She wouldn't, so he arrested her. Threatened to find Sam and put her in a group home. They have no real case against you guys. The DA gave the detective a month to find something on you or else he would throw it out because there was no evidence that would uphold in the courts. Unfortunately, her case will," Brian said.

Vince dropped like a ton of bricks onto the couch. His head was spinning at the thought of Amira behind bars because of him. "She had nothing to do with this. I'll go down and turn myself in," he said, throwing his head into his hands. "He won't care. He'll take her down because he already planted the evidence and he would rather die than look stupid in front of everyone," Brian said.

"So what do we do now?" Leon asked, placing a hand on Vince's shoulder for support. "You guys wait out the month. Then you can go back to California, back to your life. Support her as much as you can from the outside," he said.

The team looked at each other, not believing that their cards had been dealt this way. They walked away without even a slap on the wrist, while Jesse and Amira paid for their fuck ups.

---

Leon placed his head between two of the couch pillows and groaned, trying to block out Sam's high pitched yelling. He glanced over at Letty, who was amused at the little girl's antics. "I like her. She reminds me of myself when I was little," she said, as Sam threw a pillow across the room. Vince groaned, throwing his head into his hands. "God help me," he mumbled.

"Oh come on, guys. She's a little girl. She can't be that bad," Dom said, walking over to the girl and staring at her. Sam stopped jumping on the couch and shut up. She stared up at the giant in front of her, a scowl on her face. "Listen, Sam. You can't jump on the couch and run around the house yelling at the top of your lungs. You know that's not right," he said, leaning toward her, reaching out to pick her up.

She slapped his hands away and grabbed on to the skin on his arms, pinching him hard. Dom saw red and pulled away from the girl. "What the hell?" He said, grabbing onto his arm. "Awww poor baby," Elizabeth said, coming down the stairs.

She was currently clad in a towel, her long, red hair dripping wet. She walked over to Samantha and began to count backwards from the number five, slowly. Sam groaned and jumped down off the couch. She sat down in the corner of it and crossed her arms over her chest, groaning. "I go upstairs to take a quick shower and you tear this house apart. You know better than this. One more outburst, out of you and you're finished young lady," Liz said, turning around and making her way for the stairs.

She glanced at Dom and laughed. "What did you expect? Look who helped spawn her," she said, motioning to Vince. Dom laughed, glancing back at V and shook his head. "Plus, I have a feeling she's a little ADHD, if you catch my drift," Liz said, climbing up the stairs. The team glanced at the little girl and smiled.

---

Vince's eyes sprang open, the tenth time that hour. He glanced over to the other side of the bed and sighed. He dropped his head back into the pillow and stared up at the ceiling. He was silently freaking out. What if he rolled over and smothered her in her sleep? What if he was dead to the world and she needed him and he couldn't help? What if?

His mind was running a mile a minute and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to fall asleep. He kept coming up with ridiculous scenarios that ended bad. He slid out of the bed and soon found himself in front of the television, a beer in hand. He kicked his feet up on coffee table and leaned back into the couch.

Floor board squeaked behind him and he turned, finding a very sleepy Samantha. "Where's mommy?" She mumbled, walking around the couch and crawling on top of him. He opened his mouth to answer but quickly shut it, realizing he didn't know how to quite answer that question. Before he could respond, he heard soft snoring coming from the head laying on his chest.

He smiled and continued to drink his beer while watching the television.

When Mia came down the next morning to get started on breakfast, her heart warmed at the sight of V with a small child on his chest. She watched them for a few moments in silence, before deciding to go about her day before it got any later.


	30. Home

**Chapter 30: **Home

"You can't give her too much sugar. You can't let her sleep in. She loves to draw, so when she starts to get on your nerves, just give her some colored pencils and some paper," Liz said, as she organized Vince's and Samantha's room. The team had just arrived back to California and she was more than a little weary of leaving Sam with a complete stranger. "Call me if anything. You have my cell, house and pager number. So there is no excuse. When you race, you drop her off at my house. She's used to it. Amira left her at my house all the time when she had to go out," Liz continued, as she made the bed and arranged SpongeBob with the other pillows and stuffed bears.

Vince stood at the door and sighed, realizing that he was no longer alone. What used to be the room that he brought all the racer skanks to, was now full of toys and stuffed bears. He could faintly smell Amira in the room, as her clothes and belongings were everywhere. He felt a tugging on his jeans and looked down, finding Sam staring up at him. "I like this room, over here," she said, pulling on him.

Sam ran over to the door that was in the far corner of the basement. She opened it and ran inside, disappearing into what used to be Jesse's room. Leon stuck his head out of his room and glanced at Vince before glancing over to the open bedroom door. They walked over to it and found Sam standing on top of the bed, studying the massive amounts of car drawings and print outs that were posted on the wall.

Leon stepped into the room and ran a hand through his hair, glancing around the room. "Jesse," he whispered, realizing that his little brother was really gone. Vince appeared behind him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Very pretty," Sam said, running her fingers over the designs. "You like this room, huh?" Leon asked, walking over to the bed and sitting down on it.

Sam followed suit, sitting down next to him, leaning her head against his arm. "Can this be my new room?" She asked, her big eyes on Vince. He in return glanced over at Leon, who was smiling down on the little girl. "Yeah, this can be your new home," he said, wrapping an arm around the girl. "Cool," Sam said, standing up and running around the small room.

"Mommy is gonna love it here," she said, as the boys exited the room. "What did you tell her about Amira?" Leon asked, an eyebrow cocked. V shrugged and shook his head. "Told her that she was working. Making money to support the family. She ate it up," he said. "Well, welcome home brother," Le said, slapping him on the back.

---

Amira groaned as the guard slid the door to her cell back. "Estevez, visitor," the guard yelled. She rolled her neck out as she climbed out of her bunk. She slipped into her denim blue shirt that had her prisoner number stamped on it, before exiting the cell and following the guard into the visitor's center. The guard motioned for her to sit down. She nodded at the guard and plopped down into the chair.

She wasn't surprised to see Vince appear a few moments later. She rolled her eyes and scoffed, glaring bullets at him through the five inches of material separating them. Vince motioned to the phone on the side of the wall separating them, as he picked up his end. Amira reached over and picked up the phone, already dreading this conversation.

"How are you?" He asked, leaning forward. "I'm alive. How's Samantha?" She responded.

"She's good. Liz refuses to leave us alone until I can prove that I can handle her at her worst. She's decided to move into Jesse's room. As is."

Amira scoffed and shook her head. "I rather not have you or anybody else visit me, for the rest of my 10 year stay here."

Vince cringed as he realized he mistake. She was gonna milk the visit for all it had. She was gonna lay a guilt trip on him and send him packing. He felt his eyes tear up as he took in her demeanor. She was constantly looking over her shoulders, a scowl on her face. He could only imagine what she was going through. He wished he knew the right words to say. Anything to take up the silence that was slowly killing him.

"Don't do this. You need us as much as we need you. You're a part of our family. You can't cut yourself off from us," he said. As the words left his mouth, he realized he sounded like a complete asshole.

"I don't need you. What I need is for you to never visit me again. What I need is for you to go home and take care of my daughter. What I need is to forget that you ever existed, because at the end of the day, I still ended up going to jail. For you," she whispered, slamming the phone back on the hook.

Amira stood up with such force her chair flew back. The guard stepped towards her and waited for her to make her way towards the exit. He followed her out of the room, leaving Vince grounded in his chair. He swallowed hard and inhaled slowly. She was gone. For now.

---

They sat around the picnic table, all of their heads hanging low. The entire team had driven up to see Amira, but she refused to see any of them after Vince. She even placed a request to have all visitors turned away at the door. She didn't want to see them. She didn't need them. But they were dying on the inside. The guilt was eating them away. Slowly, but surely.

Liz watched as the team made the motions of going through a family dinner. She was sure that once upon a time they were something great. Something amazing. From all the stories Amira had told her, she could imagine them when they were at their prime. Now, they were all broken. Mere shells of the people they used to be.

She smiled sadly as she realized that this was her family now. Her real family was currently in Ireland, with their next appearance into the United States being nearly impossible. Their associations with the IRA kept them on the United State's black list. Her parents realized they needed to offer her a better life than what they had, so they sent her to the U.S. with an aunt when she was little. She barely remembered them, what she did know about them she gathered over phone conversations and stories from her aunt. It was hard, but she knew that they believed in what they were doing and therefore she could do nothing but support them. They were her family.

---

As the weeks went by, they started to return to their normal lives, or what they could muster of them. The team found themselves falling back in line with their past. Work. Dinner. Races. Party. Like as if nothing ever changed, except it did. Except that the adrenaline rush and the partying was no longer for fun. It was their release. Their way to breathe back life into themselves.

Dom and Letty found themselves back to their old ways, but this time they kept their massages and fights as quiet as possible, seeing as they didn't want to disturb Samantha. This would usually result in Vince complaining about how long it took him to get her into bed, for days.

Leon bought a new bulk sized box of toothpicks on sale at Costco and got a shitload of new tattoos to remember his fallen brother. He found himself missing him more and more every day but then again, that only reassured him that he would never forget him.

Liz often found herself in Leon's bed, something about the tanned green eyed God that drove her mad. She even gave tanning another try. Didn't work out very well, but if a half dressed Leon was laying next to you, would you complain?

Mia went back to school and dedicated whatever free time she had to keeping the house clean. If it wasn't bad enough with the team, Sam had proven to be her biggest challenge yet. She wasn't surprised, the girl was becoming Vince's apprentice. The two ate about the same amount and probably dirtied the same amount of clothes. Usually when Sam ran out of clean clothes, she would steal some of Vince's shirts and tie them at the waist. And when Vince ran out of clean clothes, it took a lot of groveling and what not, but Mia usually gave in and Sam helped her do laundry.

They found themselves depositing money into a jar after every race. Everything they did, 50% went to Amira, which in turn went to Samantha. Vince had moved her from the school she was at and enrolled her in one closer to the fort. Little by little, and much to her resistance, the team had managed to redo Jesse's old room and equipped it with everything and anything that she needed or wanted- including sound proofing for their raging parties and late night guests.

She had become their baby.

Dom found himself spending much of the weekends with the young girl, teaching her what he knew about cars. Leon and her would spend most weekdays coloring in the living room, stretched out on their stomachs, while Mia force fed them whatever she had baked that morning and Liz made fun of Leon for not coloring within the lines.

Letty and her instantly began to bond. She saw a lot of herself in Samantha and knew that she would be a handful to deal with as she got older. The two usually spent their time together shopping for car decals or trading your-momma-jokes.

Even though Mia and Samantha didn't see eye to eye most of the time, the two were known for being as thick as thieves. Mostly when one of them wanted something, they had each other's back. Usually against Dom or Vince, seeing as the way they only buckled was if it was something Samantha related.

Vince spent his days working in the garage and his nights wondering if he was doing okay. He didn't want to be great. Awesome. Amazing. He just wanted to make sure he was doing okay. Okay enough to not have his daughter resent him. Okay enough to give her everything she needed. Everything she wanted. He just wanted to know everything was okay.

For every ouch or every tear, he was there. For every girl that ever picked on Samantha, he made sure Letty or Mia went down there and showed them how cool she really was, depending on the type of girl. If it was a boy, Dom and Leon were immediately on it, making sure the boy knew that Samantha was the coolest girl around, seeing as she hung out with them. Every morning, the team would find themselves doing rock, paper, scissors. They soon got tired of arguing and fighting about who would take her to school and pick her up, so they reverted back to their childhood games.

And as the years went by, little Samantha turned into Sam.

And no one knew the trouble they were gonna be in for.

But then again, Liz did warn them.

"What did you expect? Look who helped spawn her."


	31. Time

**Chapter 31: **Time

They leaned against the car, both of their faces framed in black sunglasses. They were both dressed similarly- Letty in her low slung cargos and tight tank top and Samantha in her low riding jeans. The two shared a look as they saw Brian pick up Mia and carry her towards her car. "Jesus Christ. You would think those two would be done with all the lovey dovey crap by now," Sam muttered, reaching over and picking up her dark, waist length hair and throwing it up in a messy bun.

Letty scoffed and mumbled something under her breath. Sam laughed, knowing what was going through her mind. The two had become inseparable throughout the years. Brian and Mia moved out, eventually getting married and making them the only two females in the house.

Things were pretty much still the same. Dom and Letty still kept giving each other massages and even though the years had gone by, they were still madly in love with each other- even if it didn't resemble the disgusting, sweetness that Mia and Brian seemed to still ooze. As for the racing and partying, they were still going on in full swing. Dom kept rubbing his hands over his head, which was now kept in a short stubble and Letty kept demanding massages when she was getting bored.

Leon had also moved out, deciding to spend his nights entertaining the only woman who was able to tame him- Liz. The two decided that it was time to settle down and ultimately had a son- Jesse Andrew Armstrong. Sam soon found herself babysitting the now five year old, when the couple wanted to get away for a night on the town.

Vince still lived in Dom's basement and although he very much preferred to move out and get his own place, Sam refused to move. She refused to leave the place she called home. Even though most of the team had gone their separate ways, Mia still found herself making every meal at the fort. It was their headquarters and where they all spent most of their time when they weren't working or sleeping. Vince moving out would mean Sam would have to move out also and she wasn't gonna let that happen.

Plus, her best friend Letty lived there and she refused to live alone with her dad. They knocked heads every so often, as they were too alike for their own good. Both stubborn and rude with a knack for fights, they usually ended up having shouting matches. Vince could do nothing but love her, she resembled Amira in more ways than one. Always so passionate. Always.

Sam had grown up and was now officially 16, an age she never thought she would reach. It was the age for driving, dating and above all- partying. Vince had raised her to hold her own and even if he didn't want to, Sam and Letty had been involved in so many fist fights that she didn't have any other choice but to be very well acquainted with the real world. So when it came to racing and partying, she was allowed to, as long as she stayed by one of the team member's side at all times. But she was getting tired of playing that game and wanted some more independence. And this is where they stood now.

"Once he finds out, he'll kill you. And then Dom will put his foot up your ass for making V flip out like that," Letty said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her car keys. She removed the alarm and the girls climbed into their perspective seats inside the car. Letty pulled off while Sam made herself comfortable in the bucket seat. "You know, what? I've grown up a lot, Letty. I think it's time for you guys to loosen the reigns a bit. I have straight As in school, I pull a lot of hours in the garage and I've never been in any serious trouble. I'm the perfect child given the situation," Sam said.

Letty cocked an eyebrow and pulled a hard right. "Only reason you're the perfect child is because Mia and me keep covering your ass. If V knew half the shit you've been running around town doing he would decimate all. You have an evil streak, just like your mami," she said, her eyes trained on the road.

Sam felt her heart speed up at the mention of her mother. "Well, considering she went to jail for you guys and for me, the least I could do is live up to her standards," she spat out, a smirk on her face. She was proud to be her mother's daughter. After all the stories she had heard and all the pictures she had studied throughout the years, she wanted nothing but to be just like her. She broke every rule she could, took every wrong turn, just as long as she knew her mother had gone through the same thing or that she would approve.

"Is that what you're doing? Tattoos, smoking, drinking, partying, running around with this Mark kid-all behind Vince's back by the way. You are trying to go down the same road as Amira," Letty said, pulling up to the front of the house. Sam jumped out of the car before Letty's rant could continue and sprinted into the house.

She found Dom, Vince and Leon planted in front of the television. "Hey guys," she said, as she ran past them and down the basement stairs. Letty walked in moments after, shaking her head softly. She plopped down next to Dom and threw her legs up onto him. "How was the driving practice this afternoon?" He asked.

"Oh the girl is good. Too good. She'll be burning rubber as soon as V goes out and gets her a car," Letty replied, glaring at Vince. He rolled his eyes and shifted in his seat. "Don't start. The girl is barely here as is. Always out with her friends, always on the go. If I buy her that car she wants, we'll never see her again," he replied.

"Maybe it's time to let her out of the cage a bit," Dom said, his eyes landing on Vince. He sighed and stood up from the couch, his arms slapping his side. "Do you know how much trouble me and you got into when we were 16? Let alone Letty. She was hell on wheels. Sam is a bit too much like Amira and me. For her own good, I can't let her run around," he said.

"What's wrong with you and Amira? You're a hard worker, V. You provide for your family. Amira did the same. Yeah, between the two of you, you pretty much ripped Echo Park apart, but if you keep her locked up in that basement forever, she'll do the same thing me and Amira did. Find some sucker stupid enough to help us get away with shit. And you know it's the truth," Letty said, standing up from her perch on the couch and heading for the kitchen.

V followed her into the kitchen and leaned against the door frame. Letty reached into the fridge and pulled out a Corona. "Why do I feel like there's something going on between you, her, and Mia? Why do I feel like I've been in the dark for God knows how long?" He asked. Letty shrugged and smirked at him. "We raised her, V. The mommas always take care of their young. No matter what," she said, brushing past him and heading back into the living room.

Vince sighed once again and headed for the basement stairs. When he reached the bottom, he found Sam's door wide open and found her shoving clothes into a duffel bag. "What's going on?" He asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed. She shrugged and continued to collect her things. "Spending the night at Jenna's once again?"

Sam huffed and glared at him. "Don't start that shit again, Dad. There's nothing for me to do here on the weekends anyways. You guys go race and I'm forced to wait by the car all night long. You guys have a party and I'm only allowed upstairs if Letty is by my side. Then I'm forced to stay in my room until all the whores vacate the premises. Me being here on the weekends is pointless," she spat out.

"Watch your mouth, Sam. We may let you get away with a lot of things around here, but you still have to have some sort of respect for me," Vince replied, his face in a scowl. Sam scoffed and continued to pack. She zipped her duffel bag shut and reached for her purse. "Are you gonna drive or should I go tell Letty to do me the honor?"

"You know, you have a real stank attitude lately. Grow up, Sam," V shouted, feeling his anger getting the best of him. Sam dropped her bags on the floor and placed her hands on her hips. She drew in a full breath before beginning yet another argument with her father.

"Oh please, save me the father routine, Vincent. I'm getting tired of you trying to act like you have some sort of control over what goes on around here. I'm too old for you to expect that your menacing scowl and growl of death will scare me into submission. Get over it, dad," she said, placing emphasis on the last word.

He couldn't help but growl at her statements. She knew the right buttons to press and this wasn't the first time they were having a showdown about nothing. It would usually start with one statement and end up in a full blown screaming match, which either Dom or Letty would have to step into, for both of their protection. He stood up from the bed and glared at her, his arms raised in confusion.

"How the hell do you expect me to let you out of the house, let alone get you a car after some shit like that?" He asked, disbelief written all over his face. Sam shrugged and smirked at him. "I could really give two shits, dad. I've made it this far without a car, I'm pretty sure I can last a couple more months enduring the great wall of Vince," she replied.

He scrunched his face up and glared at the ceiling before taking in a deep breath and returning the same smirk she was giving him. "Ahh, I see where this is going. Your mom gets out in a few months, so you think that you don't have to pull any weight around here because she's gonna come and sweep you off your feet. You think that she's gonna take you off to some remote part of Cali where you can do whatever you want and piss off whoever you want, while she pats you on the back. Well you're wrong!" He yelled back at her.

Sam continued to stare at him, a blank face on. "She's gonna get out of prison and she's mostly likely gonna kick your ass for being such a stuck up, brat. You have this ideal picture in your head about what she's really like, Sam. She's just like me- probably even worse. So you need to start thinking long term around here because there's no guarantee that she's ever coming back. As far as you know, she's gone until she decides."

Letty stuck her head into the room and smiled at the two of them as they turned and faced her. "This brings back so many memories. Amira and V trying to kill each other because they were both too stubborn to realize that they loved each other. Now it's the next generation versus Vince. Classic," she said. They heard a deep rumble behind her and figured that Dom was standing behind her, listening to their conversation.

"I'm going to see her next week. My boyfriend Mark is driving me up there. I'm gonna go and convince her to come home," Sam said, crossing her arms over her chest and taking a stand. Dom walked into the room and glanced over at her. "Boyfriend?" He said, standing by Vince's side. Vince in turn looked over at Letty, who was trying to slip out of the room unnoticed. He walked over to her and grabbed her arm, dragging her next to Sam.

"You knew?" He asked, his eyes never leaving Sam's face. Letty shrugged and glanced over at Sam before glancing back over to V. "She's wild, V. If I don't have her back, who will? I couldn't have her running around town causing mayhem. So I sorta started looking out for her. Here and there. The guy is cool. He wouldn't harm a fly," she said.

Vince shook his head and took a step back. "We had a deal. We all promised to look after her and now I find out that you're all hiding things from me? How about Mia? How much does she know?" Sam puffed her chest out and glanced over at him. "She doesn't know anything, dad. I pretty much lied to her about everything. She thinks I'm hanging out with Jenna on the weekends," she said.

He head started to spin as he felt like the brick wall he had built around his daughter was crumbling. "Anything else we should know?" Dom said, his glare on Letty, knowing that Sam would just keep on lying if she thought it would get her out of trouble. Letty fidgeted in her shoes, knowing that she had to take a stand and stop all of Sam's lies. Eventually it would all come to light. All their dirt.

The team all made a promise one night over dinner. They said grace, sent their messages to Jesse and promised to always do what was best for Sam. Always look out for her. Letty felt guilty, because even though she was looking out for her, she could've taken a different route and put a stop to all the crazy shit Sam she was doing. She betrayed Vince and above all, she betrayed Amira.

"She says she's going to Jenna's on the weekends. She really spends the night at his place. She's on the pill, V. I made sure she knew what she was doing and that she was safe. I did what I thought was best, V. I knew that eventually she would find a way to get around us and before it got that far, I figured if I helped her get away with shit at least I could control it and her," Letty said, feeling her life slipping away from her as the words left her mouth.

She watched as Vince took another step back and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry," she whispered, as she found Dom's disapproving eyes on her. Vince slapped his hands down on his sides and laughed to himself. Shit was too crazy for him.

He couldn't deal with out of control when it came to Sam. He wanted her safe. He wanted her to stay six years old. When things were simple. When she followed his orders, when they only fought about what cartoons to watch. When an ice cream cone did the trick. When he knew what he was doing.

But now, time had caught up to them. Sam was grown and he was lost. He didn't know how to deal with this shit.

He didn't know how to deal with time.


	32. Should've

**Chapter 32: ** Should've

Vince fell back into the chair and threw the last of the whiskey in his glass into his mouth. He cringed, as he swallowed the amber liquid and relished the fiery burn traveling down his throat and into his empty stomach. He glanced up and found Sam staring down at him, a sad smile on her face.

He rolled his eyes and threw his glass into the backyard, not really caring what her reaction was. He was done with her. He swore her off. He no longer knew what to say or do. He no longer felt comfortable being her dad. What he once took joy in, he was now afraid off.

"I'm sorry," Sam said, walking in front of him and leaning against the back porch railing. He laughed and she smiled. She loved her father. Loved the little things that only he could do. How he laughed and she felt the rumbles in her body. How he knew that the only thing to make her smile when she was having a really crappy day was a long drive with Flogging Molly blasting from the speakers. How he made her a bacon, egg and cheese every morning on her birthday before taking her to the beach. How he could look at her and know what she was thinking. How he did everything and anything for her.

Sam felt her chest tighten as she realized that she was wrong. She went about everything wrong. All she wanted to do was be closer to them. To the team. All she wanted to do was be closer to her mother. She hadn't seen or heard from her since that day she dropped her off at Liz's house. All she wanted was to know the woman everyone looked up to. All she wanted to do was find herself, but she went about it the wrong way.

"I know that what I've being doing is wrong, dad. There's just something inside of me that kept pushing me to do things. I know that they were wrong, but I didn't care. I just wanted to feel free and be myself. I just wanted to be closer to all of you," she said. Vince shook his head and sat up in his chair, not quite knowing what to respond.

"Fine. I should've trusted you and what not. It's a little too late to go back on everything I just heard in there. So just give me some time. It'll all blow over soon enough," he muttered. Sam shrugged and nodded, knowing that if she kept pressing the subject, she would only end up getting into another fight with him. She left the porch as soon as she felt the tears rising to the surface.

Sam brushed past Letty and Dom and headed for the stairs. She walked straight into her room and grabbed her bags, turning around and finding Letty behind her. She sighed and dropped her bags to the floor, knowing what was coming. Any time her and Vince got into a fight, either Dom or Letty would take care of the fallout from the epic wars they would start.

Either Dom or Letty would take them each aside and knock some sense into their heads. Even though Vince was her father, she knew that couldn't cross the people that really took care of her and her dad. The people that kept her family together. Sam recognized the disappointed look in Letty's eyes, but this time around she couldn't figure out if the look was herself or for her. She knew Letty felt bad about lying to V and Dom, but she was only doing what she thought was best.

"I hope you're not thinking of still going out tonight," Letty said, crossing her arms over her chest and glancing down at her bags. "I was actually just gonna go spend the night at Liz's and Leon's. Let things cool down here for a while," she said. Letty shook her head and sighed. "You and your mother are gonna learn the hard way. You gotta stop running from your problems. That doesn't fix anything, only makes things worse."

Sam reached down and picked up the bags, slinging one over each shoulder. "Are you gonna take me or should I hop the bus?" She asked. "Ask your dad to drive you," Letty replied. "I don't think so. He's been sitting on the porch knocking them back."

"Like mother, like daughter," Letty said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her car keys. Sam followed her up the basement stairs and into the kitchen. She glanced back to the backyard and saw smoke hanging in the air. She inhaled deeply and let it out slowly, realizing that she would miss that smell. Cigarettes. Mixed with a little oil and her father's cologne. She would miss the smell of home.

---

"You can't hide down here forever, just how she can't hide out with Leon and Liz forever," Dom said, leaning against Vince's door frame. He watched as Vince popped an eye open and groaned, flipping over and burying his head into his pillow. "Talk to her Vince and stop trying to shield her from the world. She's old enough and judging by what Letty told me, she's headed down the same path you and Amira were. Sex, drugs, alcohol and most likely jail time in the near future," Dom continued to say.

He watched as he got no response from his best friend and sighed. "As much as you and Amira are alike, you guys are completely different. Underneath all the bullshit, you are the homebody, the one that likes being secure and hates change. Amira likes being on the go. I think that Sam is just struggling to fit in with both of you."

Dom scowled as he realized that he was getting nowhere with Vince or Sam. It was like a broken record, over and over again. He was starting to see red at the fact that it was constant fighting. He was tired and done with all the screaming and yelling, even Letty had taken it down a notch. They were getting too old for that lifestyle. It was time that they all grew up.

One way or another.

---

Vince leaned against the porch railing and felt his stomach turn. He groaned, realizing that his stomach wasn't what it used to be. He didn't find himself hitting every bar in town any more. He usually just spent his nights at a local bar, throwing back beers, instead of his usual whiskey or tequila concoction. _Man, how times have changed._

He looked up as Sam opened the front door of Liz's house and stepped onto the porch. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a rolled up folder. He handed it to her, with a stern look on his face. Sam reached out wearily and grabbed the file from her father. Vince nodded at her and walked off the porch, hoping into his car and driving away.

Sam walked back inside the house and sat down on the couch, slowly opening the folder. What she found inside shocked her. It was her parent's entire lives, in the palm of her hand. She found an extensive background and criminal check on both her parents, but what really shocked her was the notes her father had made on the margins.

They were the truth, the whys, the hows, the whos. She sat on the couch for the next two hours and memorized their entire lives. She finally understood. She finally felt like she had a place in her parent's lives.

She shouldn't have been trying to be just like them.

She should've just been herself.

Happy.

Alive.

Free.


	33. It Is What It Is

**Chapter 33: **It Is What It Is

As Mia placed dinner on the picnic table, Sam rounded the corner and entered the backyard. Everyone did a double take at her and immediately drew their eyes towards the food. Mia's eyes went wide as she realized that Sam was wearing a jean skirt, flip flops and a pink tanktop. Something she would've never been caught in. Sam kept things simple- she followed Letty's tastes closely when it came to clothing.

She looked over at Vince and realized that he wasn't surprised. He simply pulled out the chair next to him for his daughter. Mia smiled, happy that they finally worked things out and sat down at her place at the table. They said grace and went through the usual dealings of dinner with the team- catching up on shop and street talk.

"We did what we had to do to get by, Sam. We didn't want to live the way we did, but shit just worked out that way. That's why I worked so hard to make sure your life was perfect, because I've seen what our messed up lives did to us. To our relationship. To the rest of our lives," Vince said, as Sam and him stood side by side in front of the sink, doing the dishes.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I really am. Seeing what you guys went through really opened my eyes to things. I'm a follower, I don't have any leadership in me whatsoever. I just went with things and tried to resemble the people around me, without really knowing what you guys stood for," Sam replied, passing her father a clean dish. He wiped the dish dry with a cloth towel and threw it over his shoulder, as he returned the plate to it's appropriate place in the cabinet.

"So is there anything else I should know? Considering that all of our cards are on the table now," he said, continuing to dry the wet dishes she had placed for him on the dish rack. Sam shrugged and glanced over at him, realizing that now was the time to come clean about everything. She knew that eventually it would all come out and that then, things would be worse.

"We've only had sex once. I didn't enjoy it much. I've done a couple of over nighters at the local jail and then there's the tattoo. Explains why I don't wear bikinis around you anymore. I promise to get on the patch and quit smoking, if you promise to not blow a gasket when you find out that Mark already got me a car," she said, finally releasing the breath she was hold in.

Vince froze and she saw the vein on his neck throb. Sam took a step back, fearing that her father's criminal past would make an appearance. "Don't do that," he whispered, returning his attention back to drying the dishes. "Don't do what?"

"I gave you all that information about us so that you knew who we really were, not so that you would be afraid of us. That's why I didn't tell you about our pasts because I didn't want you changing your opinion of us. I would never hurt you, we would never hurt you, no matter what," he said, placing the last dish in the cabinet. He threw the dish towel down and heading for the living room, stopping in front of the door and facing her.

Sam turned the water off and dried her hands on the dish towel. She turned towards him and found him watching her. "We cool, dad?" She asked. Vince shook his head and sighed. He was honestly pissed about the fact that he didn't know his daughter. He didn't know why he was surprised, Liz had warned him about the changes she would grow through when she became a teenager. But he always figured that Sam was different. Sam was raised with the same people that he was raised with. He always thought that she would be the exception.

Clearly not.

He didn't know her anymore and that's what scared him. That she was a complete stranger, but in his eyes, she was still the little girl that resembled him so much. The little girl that came into his life unexpectedly. The little girl that he loved.

"Yeah, we cool," he whispered, before turning on his heel and heading into the living room. Vince found the team strewn out in the living room, engrossed in some horror movie Letty had gotten from Netflix. Mia moved over and made room for Vince, who sat down next to her. She laid out on the couch, her head in Brian's lap and her feet on Vince's.

Sam emerged from the kitchen, shutting the light off and plunging the house into complete darkness. She navigated the living room with the light from the television and managed to make her way towards her prospective seat. She sat down in front of V and leaned her head against his legs, folding her legs underneath her.

It was just another night in the Toretto household. Leon, Liz and Jesse sitting in the small couch. Letty lying on the floor in front of the television. Dom is his armchair, nursing a beer. Mia laying on both Vince and Brian. Sam sitting at Vince's feet. A movie. Some popcorn. A beer for the adults. Mia's famous hot chocolate for the kids and Brian. When the movie was done, a short critique session. Then everyone went their separate ways home.

Brian and Mia would follow Leon and Liz out the door. Dom would pick up Letty, who had fallen asleep on the floor, and carry her upstairs. Sam would turn the television and DVD player off, return the dvd to it's case and clean up the living room. She would then shrug Vince awake and order him downstairs. He would tuck her in and then head into his bedroom.

Where he would lie awake and the same little movie would play out in his head.

Amira would walk in moments after him, yawning and stretching her body out. She would shove him onto his side of the bed and climb in, looking for some warmth and shelter from the cold basement. He would kiss her and they would make love until they fell asleep. The alarm would go off hours later, where she would groan and he would push the alarm off of its perch on the nightstand. Sam would come in a few minutes later, yelling that she would be late for school.

Vince sighed, realizing that no matter how fucked up their lives were, reality was pretty darn good. It could've been a hell of a lot worse, and it also could've been better. But as he started to fall asleep, he realized one thing.

It is what it is.


	34. Later

**Chapter 34: **Later

A few weeks had gone by and the team found themselves setting an extra plate at the table. For all three meals that Mia served. Dom patted Edwin on the back and nodded over at Vince, who had been in a horrible mood all week long. Dom knew how to handle it; Vince was pretty mellow now compared to his bad old days. They didn't call him the coyote for nothing.

They were currently at the races and the team found themselves celebrating yet another win. Dom drew his eyes off of Vince and across to the other side of the street, where Sam and Mark stood, making out to their hearts content. He frowned, not liking the fact that they paraded around the house, let alone the streets, making out and leaving the windows all fogged up.

He made a mental note to speak to the young couple and to have a chat with Vince. Lately, Vince had them all teetering on the edge. He was back to being the prick that everyone loved to hate back in the day. He would work, drink, fuck, and sleep, wake up the next day and do it all over again. And in between his daily activities, he would pick fights and get into everyone's faces. Over the last month, Dom had bailed him out of jail twice.

Letty snuck up behind Dom and wrapped an arm around his waist. "What has you so pensive?" She said, her sultry, thick words snapping him out of his daze. "Him. He's been acting very strange lately," he replied, nodding over to V. "No, what you mean is that he's acting like his old self. Like before Sam and the heists," she said, landing her gaze on V also.

"Yeah, but it's getting to the point where I like the new V better than the one I grew up with," Dom said, wrapping one of his arms around her shoulders. "Well, you better get used to it. I think that the old coyote is rearing his head simply because Amira is coming home next week. Can you imagine how that family reunion is gonna be? Just imagine how much fun it'll be to come home every day to V and Ami trying to kill each other," she said.

Dom shook his head and sighed. "I can't let that happen, Let. Vince and Sam just patched things up. She's actually showing her true colors now, being who she really is. If Ami comes home and her and Vince go back to their old ways, it'll destroy her," he replied. Letty unwrapped herself from Dom and took a step back. "I know you're not even insinuating that she can't stay with us, Dom. If anything V should hit the road for her. She saved us from ourselves," she said.

Dom smirked at the fiery woman before him and he felt his chest full with pride. "Na, Let. I can't do that to her. I just need to get V to take his head out of his ass and patch things up with her. We can't get rid of any of them, even if we wanted to. They are family," he said. Letty smiled at him and then proceeded to throw her arms around him. She placed her face in the middle of his chest and smiled. He smelled like home. Their home.

----

Mia paced the living room furiously, smoothing out her shirt every ten seconds. Sam groaned from her perch on the couch's arm and threw herself back, falling on to the couch. "Is everything ready?" Letty asked, thundering down the stairs. She surveyed every inch of the house and found everything to be in order. It took the team nearly two days to prepare for Amira's arrival.

Dom appeared moments later, slipping into a fresh v-neck shirt. "Do you think they'll make it back okay?" He asked, an evil smirk on his face. The entire team, minus Vince, turned towards him and froze. Dom's comedic attempt would've normally been received with a laugh or some smart ass comment, but this time around, everyone was doubting everything.

The day was finally here.

She was coming home.

If her and Vince didn't kill each other first.


	35. Scarred

**Chapter 35: **Scarred

Vince sat in front of the prison, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. He fidgeted nervously and took a long drag off of it. He normally didn't smoke in his car, but a combination of anxiety and the burning sun forced him to seek shelter inside of his baby. He had driven several hours in order to get to the prison before the time that Amira's release was scheduled and the entire ride there was full of hopeful and happy thoughts, but as soon as he turned his car off and found himself staring dead straight at the prison, he turned on himself.

He fought the strong urge to turn his car back on and head for cover. He fought the urge to shift gears and take off as fast as the NOS in his car could take him. Far away from today. Far away from that parking lot he felt like he was suffocating in. Far away from the woman that was inside. The one that was moments from being. From being in his arms. From being back in his life.

Vince sighed and flicked his cigarette away. He continued to fidget and ponder what Amira's reaction to him would be. Would she come running? Would she shoot him at first sight? Would she jump all over him and make sweet love right there and then? What would she do?

And as he sat in his car and thought about all the situations that could play out, he didn't notice the person walking towards him. He froze and he felt his heart stop momentarily at the idea that she was finally there. Finally free. Finally his.

But he frowned as the person got into a car a couple of rows in front of him. Vince groaned and reached over, flipping radio stations until he found something decent. It was futile, it was clear they were in the middle of fucking nowhere. He gave up fiddling with the radio and opened the glove box, reaching inside and sifting through the mass amounts of CD cases that were stuffed into it. When he found one that he believed would soothe his anxiousness, he sat back comfortably in his seat, only to be scared shitless by the person standing at his open window.

"FUCK!" Vince yelled, dropping the CD case like it was on fire. "Inmate release is on the other side of the prison," Amira said, an emotionless look on her face. V sighed and unclipped his seat belt, exiting the car and wrapping his arms around her.

He drew her in, placing his chin on the top of her head. He inhaled her scent and realized that there was none. She no longer smelled like her usual combination of lavender and vanilla. She smelled like sweat and cleaning products. She smelled like prison.

He took a step back and drank her in. Her body was toned, hell more than toned. He knew that in her current physical level, she could take him down if necessary. He felt self conscious about himself, regretting those burgers he had on the drive over. Amira's hair was long, flowing down to her lower back in soft waves. Her tanned skin was covered in tattoos, but they didn't hide the scar that wrapped around her neck. She would have to carry that nearly fatal fight with her wherever she went for the rest of her life. The fight where another inmate slashed her throat.

Amira stared back at him, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the fact that Vince was staring at her so intently. She resorted to doing the same, slowing moving her eyes from the top of his head to his feet. Vince was pretty much the same, except for the slight graying of his beard and the extra pounds around the middle, he still wore the same work boots, baggy jeans and layered tanktops. Same old Vince.

"So.. What do you wanna do first? Get something to eat? A shower? See the fam?" He asked, fidgeting in his boots nervously. "Do you mind if we stop somewhere and I take a shower and stuff, before we go home?" She asked in a small voice. Vince nodded eagerly and smiled at her. She said home. Not the house or to see the team, but home. His heart skipped a beat and he couldn't help but hide the shit eating grin on his face. "Yeah, Mia packed a bag for you just in case," he said, walking around the car and opening the passenger door for her.

Ami slid into the cool interior and strapped herself in. Vince gave her a final look before turning his car on and speeding out of the prison parking lot. He grasped onto the wheel and concentrated on the road as he felt his stomach do flip flops at being in her presence. Amira did the same, concentrating on the road as she wringed her fingers in her lap.

For the last ten years, everything around her was scheduled. Everything around her was controlled and strict, if not, consequences would follow. For the first time in the last ten years, she was in control. The only problem was that she was scared shitless at the notion of being able to make her own decisions. She was scared. Shitless.

---

Vince leaned against his car and sighed, glancing down at his watch. Amira had been inside the motel room for the last forty five minutes, doing God knows what. He knew he should've been patient and waited, giving her all the time she wanted to take a nice, long bath and pamper herself, but he couldn't stop himself from groaning as he saw time crawl by. He wanted her home. With their family. With their daughter. He wanted his girls at his side during dinner tonight, like they should've been for the last ten years.

As he began to pace around his car, the motel room door opened and Amira emerged from within, Mia's small duffel bag in tow. She wasn't clad in her jeans and shirt anymore, but rather in a brown flowered sundress that Mia had gone out and bought her the day before. She was sporting some gold bangles on her wrist that Sam had found among her things, along with a pair of brown ballet flats. She had curled her long hair and pinned some of the hair in the front, back. She wore no makeup as usual, but something about her walking up to V, stirred something deep inside of him.

Maybe it was the fact that her whole upper body was covered in tattoos. Maybe it was the fact that she was walking towards him. Maybe it was the fact that as she walked towards him, he could smell the lavender and vanilla lotion she wore religiously. Whatever it was, he couldn't help but run up to her and pick her up, lose his fingers within her long hair and place his mouth on hers.

But as the fantasy in his head played out, it was brought to a stop abruptly. V tried to slide his tongue into her mouth, but discovered that her mouth was firmly shut. He unwrapped himself from her and took a step back. "Too much?" He whispered, as she stared up at him with wide eyes. She nodded slowly, not sure what Vince's response would be.

Last time they saw each other, Vince and her had made some sort of peace. He had given her the engagement ring back. She accepted it and by the time she had gotten home she had made up her mind. She was gonna marry that man, come hell or high water. And then she went to prison. Where did they stand now? Would they go home and act like those years did not happen? Would they start over? Would her daughter accept her?

"I don't know," she whispered back, shaking her head softly. He sighed and smiled at her. "Come on, before Dom blows a gasket cause Mia has him crawling up the walls," he said, grabbing the duffel bag from her grasp and placing it in the backseat. She walked around the car and climbed into the passenger side, feeling herself starting to ease up.

Her mind was running a mile a minute. But her body was tense, frozen in time. In her mind, she was still in prison. In her mind, she felt like the walls were closing in. In her mind, she knew she had no control over anything. Amira wished she could voice her thoughts, her feelings, but something in side of her made her clamp her mouth shut and let only small phrases crawl out from her lips.

You can't teach an old dog, new tricks.

She was scarred. Permanently.


	36. Distress

**Chapter 36: **Distress

The team stood out on the porch as Vince pulled his car into the driveway. They watched as Amira emerged from the car, her face blank as she walked towards them. The only thing that let them know that she wasn't a mere figment of their imagination was Mia running off of the porch and throwing her arms around her.

_Must be true. She didn't just go poof and disappear. I know I would've if I could_, Sam thought, as Mia began to squeeze the very breath out of Amira. The childhood friends held onto each other for a couple of minutes, Mia squeezing her as tightly as she could. Letty and Liz couldn't hold out much longer. Liz literally shoved little Jesse into Dom's arms and ran towards her friend.

As the team began to bombard her with questions and physical contact, Amira stood there frozen. She smiled weakly and nodded, replying softly to everything and trying her best to please them. She didn't know what to say or do, she just figured all she had to do was make it through dinner. One step at a time, nice and slow. Dinner first, then she could tell Vince she was tired and go hide out in a dark corner of the house somewhere. Then she could process quietly and think of a plan to get through breakfast and better yet, the rest of her life.

She spotted Sam standing off towards the side, her arms crossed over her chest, a cross between a half-assed smile and a scowl on her face. Amira smirked and watched as Sam began to make her way towards her. _Definitely not what I expected_, Sam thought, drinking in the tattooed sleeves her mom had. Her eyes didn't skip over the scar that wrapped around her throat, and as her heart skipped a beat, she tried her hardest not to let it show that she was flipping shit on the inside.

Sam tried her hardest to control her breathing as Amira and her hugged, reuniting the lost mother and daughter after ten years. They held on to each other, not believing that it was finally true. They were together. But as the mother and daughter were relishing the fact that they were finally together, Vince leaned against his car and scowled.

He tried to keep it hidden, but a stern look from Dom let him know that his attempts were futile. No one would be able to understand the distress that V was currently in, the fact that his mind had turned on him. He had spent countless nights picturing how today and the rest of their lives would turn out. He had planned every detail. He had picked the house, the new car, the bedroom set. Everything.

But now, his point of view was starting to shift. His mind literally flipped the script on him. The images flowing through Vince's head were no longer full of love making, but rather fighting. He could picture Amira and him fighting over Sam. Amira would want to leave, take Sam with her. She had no reason to stay, she made it clear that there was nothing going on between the two of them. He knew that it was just a matter of time before Amira got back on her feet and was out the door.

She did it before. She would do it again.

It was just a matter of time.

---

"She's not the same," Mia whispered, bouncing little Jesse on her lap. She glanced behind her to make sure that Vince, Sam and Amira were nowhere in sight. "She's not the Amira we knew," she continued to say. Dom sighed and ran a hand over his head. "Well, what do you expect? She's been locked up for a decade. Give her time to adjust and get back into the swing of things," he said.

"Plus, she's dealing with a lot. Vince, Sam. That alone will probably send her packing. I give it a day before she snaps and shanks someone," Leon joked, sliding a new toothpick into his mouth. The rest of the team- Letty, Liz and Brian, turned at stared at him, not believing he actually said that.

But he was only voicing what they were thinking. It was true, Amira had been distant and cold throughout dinner. She responded to their small talk, but they could tell that it was forced. They could tell that she would've liked to have been eating dinner by herself, rather than with a group of people shoving information her way. Telling her everything they had done for the last ten years. Every God damn thing.

Mia leaned back in the couch and snuggled Jesse into her side, a small smile on her face. _She ate a lot though. I'm happy that she's at least eating_, she thought to herself. She began to mentally make a list of the feast she would prepare for breakfast, only the best for her close friend.

Dom stared off into the distance, thinking back to when he was a freshly released inmate. He thought about how hard it was to adapt to being back in public. In prison, he only had two choices- segregation or general pop. And neither of them could even resemble being back in a house full of people. The only thing that saved him was Vince. He kept him on his toes and offered all the support he needed. _I should have a talk with her tomorrow. Let her know that she's not alone_, Dom thought, realizing that if he let Amira depend on Vince for any sort of support, all hell could break lose.

He glanced down at Letty, who was asleep at his side and smirked. He slid his arms around her and picked her up, heading for the stairs. "See ya'll tomorrow," he threw over his back, as he disappeared upstairs.

The rest of the team took that as their cue and began to head for the door. They each looked back over their shoulders at the basement stairs, realizing that they were being left in suspense. All they wanted to know was what was going on downstairs. All they wanted to know was if when they came back for breakfast tomorrow, the house would still be in one piece.

Leon smirked, picturing Amira getting naked for V.

Liz frowned, imagining Amira crying herself to sleep.

Mia scrunched her eyebrows together, realizing that V and Ami could very well kill each other in the basement.

Brian sighed, realizing that their family was now officially complete.

Baby Jesse cooed, playing with his pacifier, not a care on his shoulder.

Unlike others.

Who were in distress.

----

Vince laid down in the couch in the small living area they had made in the basement. He glanced over his shoulder and over towards his bedroom door, where Amira was currently staying. The girls had cleaned his room up and made it as close to clean as they could. Made her a new home. He didn't mind giving up his room, but what he did mind was the insane thoughts running through his head.

His eyesight shifted to the next room over, where Sam's bedroom was. He could see her walking around in her room, but decided not to go in there. He didn't want to set off another fight, give Amira any reason to doubt his parenting skills- not that he wasn't doing that already.

He leaned into his pillow and sighed, welcoming the darkness that enveloped him in the cool basement. The entire house was silent except for the sounds coming out of Sam's room. It gave him time to think about his next move. About what to expect or rather, what he shouldn't be expecting from Amira.

Dom had given him tomorrow off, told him to stay home with his girls. He promised him breakfast and then he would make sure that the trio was left alone. Vince had planned a day at the beach, some well deserved family time, but he didn't know if he could go through with it. Spending the entire day with Amira, with his head full of so many questions, so many doubts.

She clearly wasn't in the talking mood, and that he could understand. He had experienced it with Dom when he first got out, but he couldn't help but want to be close to her, touching her. He couldn't help it, he simply couldn't. All he could do was take it nice and slow with her, while securing his future with her. With his family.

Vince fell asleep that night, another movie playing in his head again. But this time the movie was full of hope, not like before, when he knew that things would go that way. This time he wasn't so sure if there was going to be a happy ending to his story.

---

In her borrowed bedroom, Amira found herself pacing in the dark. It was the usual for her. Lights out was early; she wasn't used to being up and about this late. So she did what she normally did at this time- she turned the lights off and stripped, followed by a brisk pace around her cell, or in this case, Vince's bedroom. She finished it off with a set of crunches and then she sat down on the floor, leaning her back against the bed.

She put her hair up in a ponytail and drank the room in. All the pictures of Vince and Sam that lined the walls, showing their love for each other. She didn't know what to think of them, of their future together. What would they want to do? What options did she have? Move out? Stay here? She had no job. She was a recently released inmate. She had some college education, no formal training. But she was good underneath the hood of a car, even better behind the wheel. _That's something to think about_, she said to herself, realizing that if all else failed, she could pick up where she left off. Plus, she made some connections on the inside. She knew some people that needed a driver. If all else, failed.

---

And that's where Sam found her in the morning, sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed. She opened the bedroom door and snuck her head in quietly, making sure not to wake Vince. She didn't want him to start bitching; she didn't want her mom to think that things between them weren't kosher.

"Hey," she whispered, snapping Amira out of her daze. Sam drew in a deep breath and mustered up as much courage as she could. It had taken her all night to come up with a plan to approach her mother. But she only knew how to deal with things one way and only one way- the Letty/Dom/Vince way.

Upfront. No bullshit.

She walked over to Ami and sat down in front of her, a small smile on her face. "How did you sleep last night?" She asked, pushing back hair behind her ears nervously. Ami shrugged and sighed. "I didn't," she replied, her eyes studying her.

Sam chuckled. "It's dad's stench, isn't it? The man refuses to do laundry. I think somehow the smell of car grease, sweat and skanks permeated the walls and got stuck there," she said. Amira cocked an eyebrow and stared at her. Sam's eyes widened as she realized the words that left her mouth. "Did I just fuck up? Was I not supposed to say anything about Dad's extracurricular activities?" She asked.

Amira laughed and shook her head. "No, it's not that. It's more like you've been hanging out with Letty for too long," she said, motioning to her and her current outfit, cargos and a wife beater. Sam nodded and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Mia's too prissy for me. I sorta just fell into step with Letty and Dom. I like to think of myself as a little of everyone in the team," she said.

"How so?"

"Well… I'm book smart like Mia. I'm pretty amazing underneath the hood of a car because of Dom. I can hold my own courtesy of Letty. Leon taught me everything I need to know about scanners, evading the cops and strangely enough, how to get what I want out of guys without taking my clothes off. Brian showed me how to give that killer smile of his. Liz showed me how to fix up the team when they're out fighting and what not."

"What about your dad?"

"Ahh… daddy dearest taught me how to have fun. He's really good at that, ya know. Putting a smile on my face."

Amira smiled and for the first time since she had arrived, it wasn't a fake one. It was an honest smile and it felt good. She felt herself warming up to her daughter and realized that she had made the right decision by not turning the team in.

"Yeah, he's pretty good at that usually. Until he puts his foot in his mouth and fucks up, or until he decides he wants to fight for no reason. Then he's a pain in the ass," she replied.

"Yep. We get into it a lot. Letty claims it's because I remind him of you and apparently you guys can't deal with each other."

"And then some."

Sam drank her mother in and realized that she was scared for no reason. She seemed to be easy going and what not, but she knew that nothing was what it seemed. "Do you think you guys will ever get back together? I heard the stories from the team. You guys were pretty intense when together. And there was something about a wedding ring before you, ya know," she said.

Amira's eyes fell on the wall behind her daughter and sighed. She thought back to the ring currently lying on Vince's dresser. She had made sure to leave it where he could see it. She didn't know where they stood right now and she felt that it wouldn't be right if she kept the ring and led him on. She was different and he was different also. And judging by what Sam had said about the skanks, her decision was right- he had moved on. But she wasn't so sure if she was ready to move on.

"I won't bullshit you, Sam. It's just not in me to do so. I don't know if me and your dad will ever get back together. We both have self destructive behaviors and together, we are at our worst. But maybe things will be different this time around, maybe they won't. Right now, my life is a mess. I don't want to complicate things by letting Vince in. I need to figure out what I'm doing with myself before I can even start to conceive the idea of us being in anything resembling a relationship again."

Sam nodded, understanding where her mother was coming from. Dom had gone out and gotten her some reading materials on how to deal with recently released convicts. She knew the life decisions her mother was currently facing and she knew that she had to be supportive no matter what. "Whatever you decide to do, I'll support you a 100%. I have no expectations. Just support."

---

_She doesn't want to complicate things with me? _ Vince thought to himself, as he leaned against the wall next to his bedroom door and listened to the conversation between Ami and Sam. He continued to listen as Sam and Amira spoke about the future. Sam's plans for college. Her boyfriend. And when Sam asked Amira about her plans, Vince's stomach started to churn.

He shook his head and stepped away from the door.

His worst dreams were coming true.


	37. New

**Chapter 37: **New

Here they were. At the crossroads. Sam and Amira faced each other, both clad in their bikinis, standing in the middle of the backyard. They had been tanning and enjoying each other's company, catching up on the lost years when those words slipped between her lips and hit their target.

"Why did you leave me for him?"

Ami froze, not knowing how to answer the question. Her thoughts were jumbled and every time she opened her mouth to say something, nothing came out. No answers rose to the surface. Just noise. Loud noise. "You could've turned them in. You could've lied and said anything. But you didn't. You just gave up and handed me over to him," Sam said.

Amira turned and began to walk away, hoping to seek refuge inside the house. Her daughter reached out and grabbed her arm, turning her around and forcing her to listen to her. "I deserved more, Amira. I deserved a normal childhood, not this one," she said.

Amira did a double take as she saw the resemblance between her and Vince. She realized that this was going to be fight she wouldn't win. Her and V were too much alike. They had grown to be the spitting image of each other.

She yanked her arm out of her grasp and stormed into the house, hoping to get swallowed up by the floor. As she entered the kitchen, she found the rest of the team staring at her, looking for an explanation for the ruckus coming from outside.

She froze beneath their stares and could feel Sam standing behind her. "We're gonna have to speak about this sometime. Might as well be now," Sam said, reaching out and pushing her mother deeper into the kitchen. Ami stumbled and began to breathe deeply. She turned towards Sam and began to stare her down.

"Save me the stare and the scowl. I just want answers to my questions and I don't want you to dance around them," she said. Dom stepped between the two and held a hand up. He turned towards Sam and scowled at her. "On her time, not yours. Neither one of you are going anywhere," he said.

Sam pointed towards her and chuckled. "Yeah, or so we think. Why don't you ask her what her plans are?" She said. Dom nodded and turned towards her, an eyebrow raised. They locked eyes for a few seconds before Ami turned on her heel and disappeared downstairs.

Dom glanced over to the far corner of the room, where V was currently lurking at. V got the hint and sighed, before disappearing downstairs in hopes of reuniting his broken family. He entered the dark basement and instinctively made his way into his bedroom. Upon entering, he was assaulted by her faint smell, the one he had dreamed of for years on end.

He found her standing in the middle of the room, her hands on her hips, waiting for him to say something. Vince shut the door behind him quietly, sighing and leaning against. Amira cocked her head to the side and watched as he crossed his arms over his chest and relaxed his shoulders. _This is new_, she thought to herself.

_He's not gonna fight. He's not gonna argue. He's here to talk. He's here for peace._

Amira waited patiently for him to say something, anything. She just wanted the silence to end, so that the noise in her head could be drowned out. "Say something," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Vince nodded, drinking in how different she was. Her voice was no longer full of strength. Her voice was a whisper, it was weak. It didn't line the room with happiness or fury, depending on what kind of a mood she was in. She was barely there. Vince ran his eyes over her body and began to note the differences between her and his Amira. She was different. She was someone new.

"Why is she mad?" V asked.

Ami shrugged her shoulders and oddly felt naked as she saw Vince's eyes rake over her body. She instantly wished she hadn't put on the two piece. The one she didn't want to but gave in only because Mia wouldn't shut up about it. She crossed her arms over her chest, a scowl on her face. She hoped V got the hint. She didn't want to talk. She simply wanted to disappear.

"Give her some time. Answer her questions. Be patient. The girl is really confused right now," he said.

"What about me, Vince? I'm confused too. I'm scared. And I don't need her asking me fifty thousand questions every two minutes," she whispered.

As much as V wanted to agree with Amira, he knew his first concern was his daughter. He had to make sure that she was okay. As of now, there was nothing going on between the two of them. Sam was his number one priority. Not Amira. His ex-fiance. His baby momma. His best friend. His love.

"Hey! You owe her ten years of her life. You refused to see her. You returned her letters and refused to write back. So don't flip this shit on her. You had ten years of silence while everyone else had to move on. Clearly you're still stuck in that moment, but she isn't. She grew up raised by strangers and a father she didn't know. She's strong, smart as hell and she deserves some answers. So go up there and give 'em to her. Show her that you care and that she's just like you. Won't take no for answer. And that she's just like me. She'll raise hell until she gets her way."

The fact that Vince was talking in a normal tone of voice threw Amira off. She expected him to be furious, threatening to put her in her place. The vein in his neck bulging. But he was calm as could be. Leaning against the door. Thinking clearly and conveying his thoughts in a way that she wasn't used to- sanely.

"Fine," was her only response. V nodded and turned around, exiting the room and leaving her alone with her thoughts. _Fine, just as soon as I come back_, she thought to herself. Amira grabbed a duffel bag from underneath the bed and began to shove clothes into it, not caring if it fit or not. Not caring at all. She had come to a conclusion. She had made a decision.

She was leaving.

She was different.

Everything had changed.

Everything was new.

But the one thing that wasn't new, was Sam slamming the door shut in Vince's face. He had experienced this time and time again. But this time there was no one home to referee this argument. No one there to keep the two of them sane in this fight. Everyone else had gone on with their life. Without them.

They were both stuck together. They were still the same duo- the new father and his long-lost daughter. They were still the same. Nothing was new for them. They were just older.

Vince opened her door and found Sam in front of her dresser, slipping on her leather cuffs and other accessories. "Where do you think you're going?" He asked, sitting down on the corner of her bed. Sam scoffed and watched him in the mirror. "I'm doing the only thing my mother taught me how to do- leave," she sneered at him.

Sam turned and faced, clad in a barely there skirt and a dark red tanktop. On her feet, she had a pair of chunky boots that Letty had bought her a few years back. Her hair was loose and flowing down her back. "Yeah, I don't think so, Sam. You need to get your head out of your ass and not fuck up just because your mom needed a break from your interrogation," he said.

"Now I see why she was such a pain in everyone's ass. She's a complete bitch. She doesn't think that she needs to answer to anyone."

"She doesn't! Her mother is long gone and so is her father. There's no need for you to try to control her, Sam. She's allowed to do what she feels is right. So help her deal with everything. Right now she doesn't need to feel like she's living with a warden. She's fresh out of prison, Sam."

"How long is she gonna use that as her excuse? When can I start asking the questions everyone's been thinking? "

Vince sighed and could feel himself start to build up. He hated the fact that Sam was always so persistent with every little thing. "What the fuck is so important that you need to know?"

"Why did she leave me for you? What in God's name would make her leave me with someone like you? Some stranger?"

He scowled and took a step towards her, not believing how arrogant his daughter was. "Because I've killed for her. I've done everything under the sun for her. But you're such a little bitch that no one will ever be able to show that sort of love and loyalty for you. If I'm such a bad person to be left with, go ask her to take you back. Go ask her to spend the rest of her life waiting on you hand and foot," he shouted.

Sam stared past him, her eyes lowered into slits. She slowly crossed her arms over her chest and took a stand he had seen Mia take several times. Something was up. He turned around and found what had taken Sam's attention form him.

He watched as Amira made her way up the basement stairs, a duffel bag in tow. "Why don't you go ask her yourself?" She said, a smirk on her face. Vince glanced back over his shoulder before exiting the room and following Amira up the stairs.

He waited until she was outside and around the corner of the house, before he yelled out to her. "Where the fuck are you going?"

"I can't be here anymore, V. I gotta go do my own thing for a little while."

They had reached the driveway when V reached over and yanked the duffel bag from her arm. With the other hand he shoved her up against his car, his chest rising and falling heavily. His heart skipped a beat as he realized that they were getting back to their old ways.

Fighting. Leaving. Yelling.

He could only imagine what was next.

"Get in," he barked, reaching into his pocket and taking the alarm off of his car. The doors unlocked and he shoved her to the side, climbing into the car. Ami scowled and walked around the car, getting into the front passenger seat.


	38. Unspoken

**Chapter 38:**Unspoken

Letty watched from the front windows of the house as Vince and Amira made their quick getaway. "They're back to their old tricks," she whispered to Dom, who was currently nursing a beer on the couch. He shook his head, never removing his eyes from the action movie that was currently on. "Just let them be. They'll figure things out," he mumbled, raising the volume on the television.

She shook her head and could hear Sam cursing up a storm downstairs. She let the curtain fall and made her way to the basement. As she started her descent she could hear Dom telling her to mind her own business. Letty knew she couldn't stand aside and see it all fall apart in front of her eyes. This was her family. Her best friends and the girl she helped raised.

"You know, I never pictured myself the motherly type. I always told Dom I wouldn't be having any kids until my racing days were far behind me. But you came into our lives and we worked hard as shit to make sure you never needed anything. To make sure that you grew up without a care in the world, and this is how you repay us," Letty said, as Sam shoved clothes into a duffel bag.

Sam threw the duffel bag on the floor and sighed loudly. "How is this fault? I asked a simple question! She abandoned me, didn't look back, just walked away as if I was never hers," she replied, her hands flying wildly in front of her. Letty shook her head, trying to come up with the correct words to make her understand.

"She made the decision she thought was best at the moment! You haven't been in love yet! You haven't lived! You think it was easy on her, on any of us? She could've turned us all in, but instead she sent you to us, she completed our family!" At this point, Letty was yelling at the top of her lungs. Her voice echoed off of the small basement. She figured if she yelled loud enough, hopefully, the message would get through.

"OH MY GOD! Stop being such a bitch! You are not my mother, Letty. Why is everyone on my case about this?" Sam yelled back, grabbing her bag off the floor. Those words felt like a slap on her face. Tear immediately sprung to her eyes and she couldn't help her face from turning bright red. She could feel her lips start to quiver as her heart broke.

"I'm not your mother? I may not have birthed you, but I've been there every step of the way. Me, Mia and Liz have been there through every fever, every tantrum, every important moment of your life," she yelled, her voice cracking.

The girls looked back at the stairs, as they could hear Dom's heavy footsteps making their way towards them. "We're on your case because it seems like you regret everything. Like you wish you would've never joined our lives." At this point, Letty was sobbing. She never thought her heart would break so hard because of Sam.

Dom stepped between them, holding his hands up. "Letty, let's go upstairs," he said, sternly, placing one hand on her shoulder and turning her towards the stairs. She opened her mouth to say something but he quieted her, pushing her harder towards the stairs. Before he followed her up the stairs, he glanced back at Sam and glared at her.

Sam watched as they disappeared upstairs, before plopping down on her bed. She kept hearing Letty's words over and over again in her head, eventually starting to cry herself. She pulled a pack of cigarettes from her bag and lit one up. As she smoked her cigarette, she glanced around the room, wondering how she got here.

The walls held memories of her entire life. Graphics designed by the uncle she never met, Jesse. Pictures of her and her aunts as she grew up throughout the years. Her first Christmas with the gang. The first time her dad took her driving. Her first broken bone. She sighed, realizing everyone was right. She had gone off the rails.

Amira settled into the passenger seat, kicking her shoes off and putting her feet up on the dashboard. She rested her head against the window, watching the world rush past her. She didn't know how to feel in this situation. She wanted to cry, because her heart was tearing into a million pieces. Her daughter didn't love her. Vince probably hated her too for sticking him with a kid. For the past 10 years, she learned to swallow all of her emotions. The fear, the sadness, she pushed them to the back of her mind as if nothing... but this time, she couldn't even get a full breath of air without wanting to scream.

"I"m sorry, she's not normally like that," Vince said, changing lanes. He shook his head, not sure what to think of everything that just transpired. He didn't know who he was madder at- Sam for being a brat, or Amira, for trying to think she can skip out on everything and everyone. "I'll take your word for it," she replied, trying to figure out where they were going.

"Do you want to stop and get food?" V asked, motioning to the highway sign signaling upcoming fast food restaurants. Her eyebrow arched, reading the interstate signs around them. "Where are we going?" She whispered, sitting up in her seat. "Why are you constantly whispering?" He asked, wondering why she wasn't full of life anymore.

She shrugged and sat back into her seat again. "I'm just used to it, I guess. Didn't do a lot of talking in the pen. Stuck to myself and did my time," she replied.

"We're going to the summer house. We'll grab some food and some drinks and then head on over there," V said. Amira flipped her head around and glared at him. "Why are you taking me there, Vince? I just need some peace and quiet. I just want to be alone."

"You've been alone for the past 10 years. You denied us visits, you returned letters. Enough is enough," he barked at her. Out of nowhere, Vince felt his body fill with rage. Years of sleepless nights, lonely one-night stands and crazy dreams, all because she wouldn't address him or the team. Not even their daughter. He shook his head, fighting the urge to yell at the top of his lungs at her. He gripped the steering tightly, his knuckles turning white. He clamped his jaw shut and pressed down harder on the gas pedal.

Amira rolled her eyes and sighed softly. She figured eventually they would come to blows, she was just glad that they were alone and no one was around to see what was about to ensue. She closed her eyes and fought back the tears that were trying to escape. "I'm not ready for this," she whispered, her voice cracking.

"What are you not ready for? What are you afraid of?" He replied, weaving in and out of traffic before exiting the highway. She shook her head, realizing that he wouldn't understand. The guilt she was riddled with. The regret that kept her up at night. The what ifs that made her hate everyone and everything.


	39. Intervention

**Chapter 39:** Intervention

Amira closed the trunk, grabbing her bag and the bag of liquor that Vince had purchased at the town's liquor store. She followed Vince into the house as he walked towards the kitchen to deposit their food. "Do you want to take a shower first or jump right into it?" He asked, shoving the food into the fridge.

She dropped her bag on the floor and stared at him. "What exactly do you think is going to happen here, V? What miracle do you think you are going to perform here?" She asked, grabbing a Corona from the fridge. She removed the top and straddled a kitchen chair, slamming her beer on the wooden table.

Vince nodded his head and followed suit. "I think we need to talk, about everything. What happened before you went in, during, and what is going to happen next," he said, staring her dead straight in the eye. She matched his look, daring herself to not let her stare waver. They spent several moments looking at each other, before Vince decided to get up.

He began pulling pots and pans out of the cabinets, and started making dinner. "You've been out for a couple of weeks now and it's like you are half way out the door already. If you plan on taking her away from me, I'll fight you every step of the way," he said.

Amira stood up and took his side at the counter, falling in line with him. They went through the motions of preparing dinner in silence. Like as if she was never gone. She pictured them back at the fort, making dinner all those years ago. They were picture perfect back then, but now, not so much.

Vince breathed in deeply, inhaling her scent. This was the closest she had been to him in the past 10 years and his skin was on fire. Sure, tons of skanks had made their way to his bedroom over the years, but they never spent the night. They barely made it past the hour. He made sure they were out immediately; he couldn't chance Sam running into any of them. He instantly felt disgusted and guilty after the deed was done, but he was only human. He needed that instant contact that put his mind to ease, if only for a few moments.

"I would like to say that I waited, but I didn't. I was out there every night, looking for the next one that would take my mind off of you. Looking back now, that wasn't such a good idea, more like a waste of time. I still have the dreams. Sometimes they turn into nightmares."

"What do you dream about?"

"That you'll come home. You'll make us complete. That things will be different. And for a while, I had hope. Then the nightmares started. You came home. Scooped up Samantha and took off with her. I never see her again. And your ring is on the dresser."

"I would never take her away from you. Even if I wanted to, she's rooted in this family. I don't know her at all. She's your daughter now."

"She's our daughter. We never let her forget you. We always surrounded her with you. Made sure she knew everything about you, down to the smallest detail."

"Then why does she hate me? How can a child hate her own mother?"

"She doesn't hate you, she's just a teenager. She was raised by the team. Remember when we were that young age?"

Amira smirked, thinking about how they all acted at that age. She was happy that they had turned out okay, if you used the term loosely. Leon had settled down. Mia finally had her happy little home. Letty and Dom were wise beyond their years and seemed to be finally content with each other. And then there was them... Amira and Vince.

"I'm going to go take a shower," she said, putting down the plate she was washing, before she started to cry in front of him. Vince glanced at her, noticing her teary eyes. "You don't need to hide from me, you know," he whispered, placing a hand on her lower back. She nodded, knowing that Vince was not going to shank her if she let a sliver of emotion show. "10 years, V. It's not easy to just switch it on and off, like nothing. It's overwhelming, too many people at once. Everyone wants to ask a question, make a comment, do something. I need structure, a schedule. And Dom was helping me with the transitions, but it doesn't happen overnight," she replied, walking away from him and heading upstairs.

He stared after her, trying to come up with the correct words to say that would put her at ease, but he realized that only time would heal the rift between them. Although he had promised himself that he wouldn't head back to Echo Park without her on his arm, he knew that he might have to settle for just a nice dinner. He heard her footsteps over his head and knew that she had walked into what was once their bedroom. The room they shared together for so many summer nights. The room that they fell in love with each other in. The room they explored their weird definition of love in.

He sighed softly, throwing the dish towel on to the table. He grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the shopping bags he had brought in and the radio that was plugged in on top of the fridge. V made his way upstairs, fingers crossed that his plan would work.

As he made his way through the upstairs part of the house, flashbacks of their previous summers there flashed through his head. He stopped in front of the open bathroom door, a smile plastered on his face, his eyes closed and tears streaming down his face.

"I need this right now. For the last 10 years, I've been alone. You weren't the only one stuck in that prison. We all did that bid with you. And right now... I need you to imagine that you are 17 and I'm 19 again. This is just another summer and we are just crazy teenagers in love. Even if you don't want to, I need you to fake it because I'm putting it all on the line right now. Forget everything that has happened since then, just pretend you love me again," he whispered.

Amira stared up at him from her seat in the tub. She could see the desperation that was written all over him. She knew that it was killing him because it was killing her also. She couldn't deny that she wasn't in love with Vince. She had started to fall in love with him again ever since she got out of prison. Seeing how he had transformed himself into the man he currently was. How he raised their daughter. How she kept giving him the cold shoulder and he kept trying, over and over again, to spark that connection again.

Her first instinct was to tell him no, but she couldn't help but smile as the memories came flooding back to her. Her best years were by Vince's side. Even when she thought about all the fights and all the times she wished she had never laid eyes on him, she still couldn't name a single time she was happy and V wasn't involved.

V saved her. He saved her before and he was saving her all over again.

He plugged the radio into the wall and found a soft rock station before placing the bottle of whiskey and a pack of cigarettes on the edge of the tub. Vince kicked his boots off and shed his shirt. Amira looked up at him as she unbuttoned the top button of his jeans. He stopped before pulling the zipper and looked at her, waiting for her approval. She looked back at him, her eyes wide.

She didn't know if she was afraid of him or turned on. He had definitely kept in shape over the years, and she could vaguely remember how he was in bed, but after 10 years in prison, all she needed was a visual to spark those feelings again. Amira picked up the whiskey bottle and removed the top, throwing it into the sink. She took a big gulp, reminiscing on their first time together.

Amira moved her legs, making room for Vince to climb into the tub.


	40. FIRST TIME

*Like before, capitalized chapter titles indicate that this chapter takes place during the team's time at their summer house in the desert.*

**Chapter 40**: FIRST TIME

They all sat around the living room, fanning themselves with random objects that they found around the house. It started out as just another weekend for them, but who knew how things would end as they watched the sky open up outside and begin to pour down on them. As the storm raged outside, the team found themselves stuck inside, with no power.

Mia had managed to part with some of her scented candles and placed them around the living room as they all took part in game of "I Never". They all knew things were going to end bad as Mr. T took off to do a last minute race and Dom produced the large tequila bottle from his room. An hour later and they were completely shitfaced, having proved that they were far from innocent.

Letty kicked her feet up on the coffee table and fanned herself with her hand, pushing her shirt up to expose her navel. She was clearly going out of her way to get Dom to notice her. Mr. T was out of the house and they were all drunk- perfect timing. She exaggeratedly sighed loudly, trying to hint to Dom that she wanted to go upstairs. Mia rolled her eyes, not oblivious to what was going on.

"Let, stop trying to act all innocent. Dom, just take her upstairs already," Mia said, licking the left over salt on her hand. Leon slapped Dom on the back, as he stood up and stretched a hand out to Letty. The rest of the team cheered them on, as Dom picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, making their climb upstairs to their room.

The rest of them sat around, staring at each other. "What are we supposed to do for the rest of the night? It's too crazy outside to drive and there's no power for video games," Jesse groaned, plopping down onto the couch. Leon laughed, standing up from his spot on the floor. "That only leaves one thing, time to spank the monkey," he said, grinning and making his way to his room.

"Oh eww," Mia said, scrunching her face in disgust. "Oh, don't act like you don't do it," Leon yelled over his shoulder, before slamming his door shut. She shook her head, but couldn't stop her face from turning bright red. Jesse picked up a car magazine from between the couch cushions and started to flip through it. "Fine," Mia said, "this is a perfect time to start the reading for the upcoming school year." She grabbed a book from the coffee table and settled in next to Jesse.

V stood up and stretched his body out before extending a hand towards Amira, who was sitting half asleep on the floor. "Come on, sleepy head," he said, pulling her off of the floor and pushing her towards the stairs. She begrudgingly accepted, letting him guide her through the dark house. As he walked through the dark, V felt his head spin, realizing he was way more drunk than he thought.

As they entered the room, V flung himself onto the bed, while Amira closed the door and lit a candle for them. She walked over to him and began to undress him, fully knowing he was too lazy to do so and would rather sleep in his clothes. She was reaching for the top of his jeans, starting to pull them down, when he stopped her.

V stared into her eyes as he removed her hand and placed it on his crotch. She could feel her face start to turn bright red as his member pulsated underneath her hand. Amira swallowed, her heart beating fast as she felt the spot between her legs start to throb.

She knew everyone thought they did something in their room at night, but the truth was that they had never crossed that line. Behind closed doors, V was a different person with her. He would cuddle with her at night and support her through all the nightmares. She would hold him tight as he tried to not cry about whatever had transpired between him and his dad that day. They shared hopes and memories, but they never slept together.

They had made out. They had groped each other. And other than the abuse that her father put her through, she had never allowed another man other than V to touch her, and that's what stopped him every time he felt like he was going to cross that line. He wanted to love her, make her his, but he never wanted to hurt her.

Amira thought she knew where this was going. She figured they would make out for a while and he would eventually push her off of him when he had his fill, but tonight she wasn't in the mood. Tonight she was drunk and just wanted to be next to him, but she didn't want to be rejected. He would fuck random skanks that he picked up at parties, but refused to touch her. The more she thought about this, the angrier she got.

Ami snatched her hand away from his crotch and stumbled backwards. Her chest heaved as she thought of all the right words to explain to him how angry she was. She flung her arms around, trying to get everything out, but nothing. "What?" He asked, staring up at her.

V stood up and pulled his shirt off of him, facing her bare-chested. She groaned, slapping her arms down to her side. "Use your words," he said, removing his pants before sitting back down on the bed. "This," she yelled, motioning to him.

"You can't just do this, Vince. You can't just lead me on whenever you like," she said, reaching down and pulling off her shoes. As she stood back up, she lost her footing, falling down on the floor. V stood up and helped her get back up. They ended up facing each other as a soft wind came in through the window and blew their candle out.

"I'm not leading you on. I'm just trying to figure this all out," he whispered. He could hear her draw in a deep breath as he tried to gather his words. "What is there to figure out? We spend all day, every day together. You're my best friend. We kiss. You're the only man I'm not afraid of," she whispered.

He couldn't help but lean in and kiss her. He could taste the lime and tequila mix on her tongue as she opened his mouth for him and kissed him back. She matched his kiss with equal force, throwing her arms around him, pressing herself against his strong chest. Amira moaned into his mouth as his arms wrapped around her, and his hands found themselves on the bottom of her ass.

Vince pulled apart from her, breathless. He looked into her wide eyes and her swollen lips, his body tingling at the sight before him. "I can't... what if we do this and we don't work out?" He whispered, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there, V. We are best friends. We've been there for each other no matter what so far, how can this change things so drastically?" She naively responded, not understanding that giving into each other was going to change their entire relationship.

He reached for the bottom of her shirt, pulling her towards the bed. Under the moonlight in that dark room, Amira let Vince's hand roam over her body. He slipped off her tank top and placed soft kisses all over her breasts. She relished the feel of Vince's soft skin under her fingers. She had a fascination with his broad chest, always feeling safe and secure whenever he wrapped them around her.

Vince kissed and nuzzled her neck, thinking about all the times he had wished he could go there with her. All the times he wrapped his arms around her as they settled in for the night. After all the years he had spent watching his father abuse his mother, he vowed he would never hurt her that way. Vince didn't know it yet, but Amira would become the only woman he would view as a female, everyone else that came and went was just there to please him for the moment. "I love you," he whispered, hoping that his proclamation didn't fall on deaf ears.

"I've always loved you," she whispered back, realizing that it was finally happening. All those times she wished Vince would look at her like he did all those skanks he entertained. She confused what he had had with them for love. She was finally about to become his and she couldn't believe it.

The next couple of moments happened in a flash and she knew she would keep replaying them for days to come. From the first time he positioned himself in between her legs. Staring up at him as he stared at her naked body. His hot moans in her ear. The shaking of her legs. The gasp as he flipped them over. The sweat that lined her forehead.

And then they parted. Both falling back onto the bed, panting heavily. "So I see what the hype was all about," she said, smiling, poking him on the side. V grinned, running a hand up and down his stomach. "That's why they call me the Ol' Coyote," he replied, grabbing the covers and throwing them over them.

-

The next morning, they woke up and found that the power was back on. They heard pots and pans banging downstairs and the smell of food wafting in from the open window. Amira sighed, slipping back into the clothes she wore last night. Vince glanced at her, as he also put his clothes back on.

"So what does this mean?" Vince asked, wondering what the future held in store for them. She froze, not knowing what to expect. Were they officially together? "I don't know, V. I've always been around. I've always considered you the only guy that mattered on the planet. Would you be able to say the same about me?"

He slipped into his shirt and headed for the door. He paused as he opened it and looked back at her. "Come on, _girlfriend_," he said, placing emphasis on the last word. He couldn't help the shit eating grin that was plastered on his face. Amira chuckled, skipping over to him. She stood up on her tiptoes and placed a kiss on his mouth. He smiled as placed his hand on the small of her back, guiding her towards the stairs.

As they entered the kitchen, the team erupted into cheers and catcalls. Amira blushed, hiding behind Vince's backs. "Get used to it, chica. They live vicariously through us," Letty said, handing them a plate full of waffles. Dom patted V on the back as he took his seat at the head of the table. "Welcome to the club, brother."

Vince shook his head and sat down next to Dom. "So... is he deserving of the nickname?" Letty asked. Mia gasped and held her hands up. "Come on, guys! We're having breakfast!" She said, scrunching her face in disgust.

Jesse laughed, pouring maple syrup over his pancake. "Oh, we all heard how that went," he said, causing the table to erupt in laughter. "Was I that loud?" Amira asked, hiding her face in her hands. "Nothing to be embarrassed about. When Letty and Dom first started humping, you could hear her in the garage," Leon replied. Letty slapped him across the head, chuckling.

Life as if on cue, Mr. T's car was heard pulling up to the house. They all shared one last laugh as they composed themselves. "Hey, anyone home?" He shouted from the open doorway, making his way to the kitchen. They all shouted greetings at him, as Mia set a plate for him. "Did I miss anything?" He asked, as they passed him the plate of waffles.

Vince and Amira shared a glance as the rest of the team chuckled.


	41. Aftermath

**Chapter 40:** The Aftermath

Vince slipped his naked body into the hot bath she was currently in, taking the whiskey bottle from her. He downed his fair share of the bottle before returning it and leaning back in the tub. He watched as she lit a cigarette and took a long pull. "So are you excited for your senior year?" He asked.

Amira chuckled, shaking her head. "Really? I'm 17 again? I don't know if I can keep up with the 17 year old me," she replied. "I don't think any of us would be willing to keep up with her. You were one major bitch." She laughed, thinking about all the good times, and even some of the bad times.

"Yeah, I was one crazy teenager, and it seems like I haven't learned my lesson at all," she replied, motioning to everything around her. "What do you mean?"

"10 years ago, I didn't think letting you back into my life would land me in prison or with a daughter I barely knew. I pictured myself in a home, doing a load of laundry. Not hiding out in the middle of the desert, trying to put myself back together."

Vince reached into the water and picked up her foot, rubbing the balls of her feet. "It was a mistake you know, taking the rap for us. You should've turned us in, saved yourself." She scoffed. "And do what? You put a ring in my hand. I was thinking everything was going to blow over. That you would come back to Echo Park and marry me, finally. That we would live happily ever after. I hadn't learned my lesson. There is no happy ending for me, ever."

He shook his head, continuing to massage her feet. "I am going to marry you. I am going to give you that happy ending. We lost each other before and we managed to find our way back to each other. And this time will be no different. Just tell me you love me," he replied.

She cocked her head to the side and listened to the words that were coming out of his mouth. What was she so afraid of? He was here. He was ready to pick up where they left off. Was she so jaded she couldn't fathom the idea that maybe things were going to be okay? Was she so afraid of letting him lead her into the unknown?

"I love you, V. Always have, always will," she whispered. Vince ran his hand up and down her leg, massaging her calf. She took another long swig of the whiskey, trying to drown out the sensations that ran through her body when V's fingers touched her. She felt like her body was on fire, as she looked across the tub and found V staring back at her. His hands roamed up onto her thighs. She moaned, as his calloused fingers made her feel like melting.

She leaned her head back, tears sliding out of her eyes. "Do you resent me, V? For sticking you with a child you barely knew? I hate myself for choosing you over her. For choosing to save you while giving her up. Seeing her all grown up is a constant reminder of the last 10 years. Of everything I missed. Every night I made myself sick with the thought that something was going to happen to her. To you. That I wouldn't be around to help or say anything."

"You didn't stick me with anything. I wanted to be her father as soon as I found out she existed. It didn't even matter than when I opened that envelope it said that I wasn't her father. My heart broke, but it still didn't stop me from giving you that ring. It still didn't stop me from raising her like she was my own," he said, sitting up and leaning towards her.

She cocked an eyebrow, releasing a breath she didn't even know she was holding in. "She's not your daughter?" She whispered. V nodded. "I don't need a piece of paper to tell me who my family is and who isn't. The team is my family. Samantha is my family. You are my family."

Vince leaned forward, placing a kiss on her forehead. "I'm sorry. I wanted her to be yours so bad. I believed she was yours. That she was the only piece of you that I had left," she whispered. He reached over and grabbed her hand, placing it on top of his heart. "You always had me, Amira. Even when we were apart, I was always with you."

Hearing those words put a small smile on her face. She thought back to all their years together, all the fights, all the laughs, and she felt a small piece of her spring back to life. She didn't know if it was the whiskey, the carnal lust she felt for Vince, or the fact that she was feeling like the old Amira again, but she leaned forward and placed a small kiss on Vince's lips.

"Do you want to hang out here, or do you want to go to bed?" He whispered, wrapping an arm around her and rubbing the small of her back. "I want to go home," she whispered back, wrapping her legs around him and drawing him closer. She nuzzled her face into his neck, moaning softly as he rubbed her back slowly.

"Let's finish up here and have dinner. I need to sober up a bit before we hit the road," he replied, starting to unwrap himself from her. "Don't leave," she said, grabbing his arm and dragging him closer to her. She began to kiss him softly, dragging her teeth across his bottom lip. His hands roamed her body as they made out passionately, making up for lost time slowly.

V's hand slipped below the water, running his fingers between her legs. She jumped back, the intense spark between her legs startling her. He pulled away, breathless, and his lips swollen. "Sorry, I didn't mean to.." He stammered out, trying to catch his breath. "No.. It's okay. I just... you know," she replied, her face bright red.

She dragged his hand back to her, wanting him to explore her more. "You sure?" He asked, but he had already received his answer as she leaned back and spread her legs for him. With a cigarette in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in another, she sat back and let him run his hands up and down her body.

He kissed her neck softly, his fingers exploring her nether regions. He felt her body shiver as he entered two fingers into her, feeling the soft heat coming from within her. He couldn't help but smile, he had been imagining this moment for the last 10 years. He continued to explore her, yearning to enter her.

Amira let her cigarette fall into the water, as she climaxed under his hand. She blushed, not wanting to let V see her in this vulnerable state. "Come on," he whispered, "dinner is getting cold." He stood up, towering over her, warm water dripping down his body. She stared at the erection he was sporting and cocked an eyebrow. "It can wait," he said, extending a hand towards her.

She accepted and let him wrap her in a towel. As she stood up, the room spun around her. The whiskey had gone straight to her head. They walked through the house, clad in only towels, getting ready to sit down to the dinner he had prepared for them. They ate in silence, both trying to process their emotions.

Vince thought about the fact that she said she wanted to go home. Had she made her mind up? Was she going to stick around? Would she go back to the fort and pick up where they had left off 10 years ago?

Amira allowed herself to relax and started to feel like she was her old self again. When Vince confessed that Sam was not his daughter and he still loved her like one, she felt instantly at peace. He had an out all along and didn't use it. She didn't quite know how drunk she was but she wolfed down her food in record time. She didn't even avoid V's stare as they sat across from each other.

"I'm ready, V," she said, pouring out the last of the whiskey bottle into her cup. She took a sip and glanced at him. Vince cocked an eyebrow at her and lowered his fork. "Don't jerk me around here, Amira. I need to know that you are willing to give this a try. That you're willing to be with us. Complete our family," he replied. She shook her, standing up and pushing the plate away from her. "I'm going upstairs to change, so that we could leave. You should clean up here."

She exited the room, leaving Vince staring after her. She made her way upstairs to the room they once occupied. Not too long ago, they spent hours holed up in there, talking pure nonsense. She sat down on the corner of the bed, her elbows on her knees, clasping her hands in front of her. The fear she felt every time she thought about sticking around was finally starting to subside. She knew that she didn't have to go back to the fort, that they would take her in whenever she chose to return, but now it felt right. Vince had sold her on the dream of being a family once again. He convinced her that he still loved her. Now all she had to do was prove to her daughter that she loved her too.

As she looked up from her perch on the bed, she found Vince standing in the doorway, leaning against the door frame. He held her ring in his hand, extending it out to her. She stood up slowly, never removing her eyes from the ring. She slipped her ring finger into it, closing her hand and holding it up. "I never thought I would wear this again," she whispered. "I just hope you never take it off again," he replied.

She reached up and removed her towel, letting it fall to the floor. Vince stepped towards her, a small smile on her face as he drank her in.

And the rest was history.


End file.
